When talented musicians, a premier concert venue and the radio station 103.9 The X come together, they form the X Bands Showcase and Awards Show.
The show will be staged tonight at 8 p.m. in Club Concept. Six bands will compete for studio time and two opening slots for the nationally notorious MTV humor show “Jackass.” The event also includes a CD release party for the local band TwoSpy. Other bands scheduled for the event are Oddstar Experiment, Skylar Blue, Letter, Space Camp Dan, Passerby and TwoSpy’s co-headliner, Lesermor.
C.K. Chin, co-manager of Club Concept, said he wants to establish his club as a premier rock concert venue.
“We want to be the venue in College Staion that great musicians from all over come to perform at,” he said. “By hosting rock concerts, we want to get a good reputation so we can attract bigger bands to come and perform at the club.”
Chin said several criteria will be used in judging the bands.
“The foremost aspect that we look for in these bands is their ability to draw a crowd,” he said. “They also have to be good self promoters because an act needs to know how to sell itself to attract crowds. We are also judging on the basis of stage presence, vocal ability and crowd reaction.”
Beau Bishop, bass player for Lesermor, said the band wanted to expand its College Station fan base, one of the reasons it chose to be part of the showcase.
“We love the crowds in College Station because they are always very welcoming and energetic,” he said. “We also love to perform at Club Concept since we know some of the people who are involved with the club, and the atmosphere there is awesome.”
Bishop said Lesermor is ultimately looking for ways to spread the word about its music.
“A lot of times local bands are in it simply for the fun of it or to have something to do on the weekends,” he said. “In Lesermor we are very serious about our music because it is something that we all love to do. As a band, we all have set goals and aspirations and there are places that we want to be in a few years. We have a businesslike approach to our music. Being a part of the band showcase is a step closer to reaching our target.”
Justin Hawkins, lead singer for alternative rock band Oddstar Experiment, said that although his band members are taking the competition seriously, they are in it for the fun.
“We try to move with our music,” said Hawkins, a junior speech communications major. “It would be really awesome if we won, because we would be able to reach out to a lot more people that haven’t heard of us before. In the end, we really just want to have fun and make sure that our audience has a great time at our live show. We don’t approach our music like a job. We just want everybody to enjoy themselves.”
Hawkins said Emo rock fans will have something to look forward to at the showcase.
“We like to use a variety of styles to make our music,” he said. “One genre that is dominant in our music is Emo rock because our main influences are bands like Weezer, Jimmy Eat World, Finch and Julianna Theory. We like to mix it up with Indie and alternative rock. We hope that our formula strikes a chord with the audience and judges.”
Eitel Coldberg, drummer for Letter and a junior biology major, said preparation for the competition has included a grueling schedule for the past month.
“Just within the past few weeks, we have done many live shows and have been trying to get the word out about our band,” he said. “We traveled to Austin for a show at The Vibe on 6th street, we did several shows in the Engine Room in Houston and we have been having a lot of rigorous band practice for the show. The X showcase will be our first live show in College Station, and we are very excited about it.”
Coldberg said the band decided to take the opportunity of being in the showcase after hearing about it from a friend.
“Right when we heard about the bands showcase and the prizes that it had to offer, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get our band some exposure,” he said. “We have a unique sound that is crazy and funky, but heavy at the same time. It’s a lot like the styles of 311, Tool, Incubus and Deftones all fused together and its sounds very different. We really hope to win, especially since the studio time will really help out our project to come out with a full-length disc soon.”
Daniel Chapman, bass player for Space Camp Dan said his band appreciated the event because it promotes local bands.
“We were approached to be in the showcase after a promoter for the club saw one of our performances and immediately said ‘yes’,” said Chapman, a sophomore business major. “The show is a great opportunity for bands like us to get exposure because its not an expensive show and it supports of lot of other great local bands that College Station has to offer. We really want to spread rock music around College Station and be a part of anything that promotes indie bands.”
Chapman said Space Camp Dan adds old school rock to its all Aggie rock sound for a raw appeal, but they is still evolving.
“We are mainly an upbeat rock band with all of our members having diverse musical influences,” he said. “We like to use a lot of retro styles that reflect our common love of older bands like Jeff Buckley, Bob Marley, Beastie Boys and Red Hot Chili Peppers and new bands like Taking Back Sunday and MXPX. For some of our members even their onstage behavior reflects their musical influences, which adds a really great element for our lives shows.”
Kody Kuehn, a senior psychology major and member of alternative trio Skylar Blue, said his band is mainly in it for the exposure.
“Since College Station is so saturated with traditional country and folk bands, its really hard for rock bands to break through,” he said. “Events like this help bands get their names out there.”
Kuehn said Skylar Blue, formerly known as Liquid Youth, will add a spiritual touch to the showcase.
“Through our music, we try to emphasize aspects of life that we think are important and constant such as family, friends and faith,” Kuehn said.
Lacey Mosley, lead singer for heavy rock band Passerby, said the band hopes to reach a larger audience through its performance.
“Our sound is like Incubus mixed with Rage Against the Machine except with a female lead singer,” she said. “We strive to create a sound that is original. I think by using female vocals in our songs we get more attention from people. But we don’t think that attention will necessarily help us win the competition though, because music has to be good for people to respect it.”