The Battle Of The Bands Finals

Tonight marked the seventh consecutive Wednesday, and also the finals for this year's Battle Of The Bands. A special surprise this evening was the addition of a guest judge, who was none other than Spin Magazine's Editor in Chief - Sia Michel. Sia also happens to be yet another Erie alumni who has gone on to a high profile position in the music industry. Michel told PlayErie that she had flown in from New York City specifically to participate in this event.

Now lets get down to the performances:

Super No. 7 - Sherlock's
Wednesday, March 5th

Super No. 7 was again in top form, obviously giving their all in this power-charged set. Vocalist/frontman Keith Hayes was all over the stage, and at one point jumped up on the front railing and hung from the light rack by one arm. He continued to sing from this precarious position while Jeff Risenweber and Shawn Hammer flailed their guitars. Meanwhile Jesse Johnson (bass) and Joe Cimino (drums) held the whole thing together. Hayes eventually let go after two massive flood lights came on directly in his face. (Perhaps the light man's not-so-subtle way of letting the vocalist know that the light rack was not to be hung on?)

The crowd response was exceptional and continued throughout the evening.

Ded Loft - Sherlock's
Wednesday, March 5th

Ded Loft have been the running since week number one of the Battle of the Bands. It seemed unimaginable that anything could top Super No. 7's pulverizing energy level, but Ded Loft took things up yet another notch.

Blending metal, hardcore, sound bites and samples this band had as much subtlety as a jackhammer. Vocalist Jay Baumgardner can shred his vocal chords with the best of them, but he is able to switch into a very melodic, more pop oriented style at any moment. However it only lasts for a moment and he and guitarist Mike Baumgardner are screaming their lungs out.

The rest of the band is tight and powerful with Tom Baumgardner on drums, Dave Kephart on bass and Doug Eaton on keyboards. At the end of the band's set Eaton dove into the audience and surfed out into the masses. The crowd for this band was definitely motivated to slam and mosh, which kept security on their toes.

Ron Yarosz - Sherlock's
Wednesday, March 5th

The final band for the evening, and also for the entire Battle was Ron Yarosz and his band (dubbed The Vehicle, after his album of the same name).

The question was, how was Yarosz going follow what Ded Loft had just done? There was nowhere else to go as far as intensity. However, Ron made the clever move of starting his set with the spacey intro to his song "Vehicle". By moving to another dynamic a space was created and the audience was given a breath... and so the band could build from there.

And build they did with high powered tunes like One Ton Bomb, Busted, and Gettin' It Done. This band understood the use of dynamics and after several fast-paced songs they brought it down for a piano ballad. As with Ron's week three performance, two female backing vocalists appeared on stage (pictured above), adding even more variety to the show.

Backing up Ron were Scott Cravener on guitar, Doug Phillips on bass and Randy Hetherington on drums.

Here are this year's Battle of the Bands winners:

1st Place - Ded Loft
2nd - Super no. 7
3rd - Ron Yarosz

Ded Loft takes home $1,000 cash, a year long sponsorship from Budweiser, studio time at Diecaster studios, a slot at this year's Celebrate Erie festival and a headlining gig at Sherlock's.

Super No. 7 and Ron Yarosz also receive 10 hours of studio time at Diecaster Studios.

Top of Page

Anger Management - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 26th

First up tonight was Anger Management, which features former members of Skudd and Self Inflicted. They pummeled the audience with a relentless high speed combination of hardcore, metal and rock. On a couple of the tunes the vocalist/guitarist showed that he was also capable of very melodic hooks.

Other highlights of this band were the DJ-type member that manipulated his beatbox/sampler on a twisty, wobbly stand and the drummer who had thousand-mile-per-hour feet and wasn't afraid to use them.

Monday Mourning - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 26th

Monday Mourning offered a refreshing change of pace in this battle, much like Ron Yarosz did a few weeks back. The band features femme fatale vocalist Marygail, who has no trouble handling the wide range of styles that Monday Mourning plays. Sometimes the mood is spacey, bluesy or jazzy and at other times it rocks hard venturing into metal and hardcore areas.

One of the guitarists stepped up to the mic for a tune and his voice was deep, rich and outstanding. The audience seemed surprised and responded with plenty of enthusiasm.

An interesting aspect of this band is that although there are two guitarists they don't provide the expected lead work. Instead, the bulk of the soloing comes from the keyboardist, who primarily plays a piano sound. Along with Marygail's distinctive vocal style and stage presence these points add up to a unique and interesting band.

Grin - Sherlock's
Wednesday, February 26th

Grin hit the stage and plowed headlong into no-frills hard rock. Their sound was thick, heavy and ran the audience over like a freight train. Grin's drummer attacks his kit like an animal... shirtless with his hair hanging in his face he bashes his drums into submission.

At the other end of the spectrum the vocalist has a clear, edgy voice that cuts through the wall of sound, yet still retains its power. Grin appears to be carrying the torch of heavy rock by remaining true to its roots.

Here are this year's Battle of the Bands Finalists:

1st Place - Ded Loft
2nd - Ron Yarosz
3rd - Super no. 7

None of week 6's bands managed to break into the top 3 of the qualifying round, so Ded Loft remains in first place all the way from week 1, Ron Yarosz takes 2nd with his week 3 performance and Super no. 7 holds onto 3rd place and a spot in the finals after their show in week 4.

Ded Loft, Ron Yarosz and Super no. 7 will all battle it out on Wednesday, March 5th at Sherlocks for the Battle of the Bands Championship. The winner takes home $1,000 cash, a year long sponsorship from Budweiser, studio time at Diecaster studios, a slot at this year's Celebrate Erie festival and a headlining gig at Sherlock's

Time slots will be released as soon as they are confirmed.

Top of Page

Telefonics - The Docksider
Friday, February 21st

Tonight's event at the Docksider was billed as "Movie/Music Vol.1" and was sponsored by the Great Lakes Film Festival. This was the first in a series of fundraising events for this year's film festival, and several independent short films were interspersed between the musical guests.

First up to play were Telefonics, who always put on a good show at this venue. For those of you living in a cave for the past couple of years Telefonics are comprised of Gina Rullo on vocals & Theremin, John Johnston on guitars & vocals, Matt Thompson on keyboards & vocals, Pete Burke on guitars, Kevin Manco on bass and Erik Mildner on drums.

One of the more interesting highlights of the band's set occurred during the second to the last tune, which was a very long, jam oriented groove. At one point John Johnston and Kevin Manco both took a leap into the air and collided, which knocked both to the floor. Apparently they decided to go with the flow and both remained on the floor facing their amps as they continued to pump out the music. In a few moments Pete Burke got down in front of his amp and began to coax dissonant feedback from his rig.

By this time Johnston was grabbing objects to bow, pluck and generally flail his guitar with. Meanwhile Gina Rullo and Matt Thompson (the only two members left standing), cranked out waves of noise on Theremin and keyboard respectively. Eventually the guitarists got back on their feet, but bassist Manco finished the song in the odd position of lying on his back with his feet in the air.

The Johnson's Big Band - The Docksider
Friday, February 21st

The second musical guest of the evening was the Johnsons Big Band, and with nine members the stage was packed. This band doesn't play big band music in the classic sense (Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller), but rather bluesy, funky tunes with a definite street-wise attitude.

With a horn section, electric & upright bass, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, melodica and plenty of vocals these guys are able to cover a lot of bases. They have a very earthly, soulful sound... in part due to all of the "natural" instruments. There wasn't a synthesizer or high tech gadget in sight. The most modern equipment on the stage were the vintage Wurli piano and portable Hammond organ.

Telefonics are to be commended for helping to bring interesting artists such as the Johnsons Big Band to town. Telefonics' John Johnston has a "trade-off approach" with musicians in other cities such as Pittsburgh, Toronto and Buffalo. Telefonics travels to these cities to play shows with various bands and then these bands travel to Erie to play with Telefonics. - photo by Justus Cotterill.

Top of Page

Delano "Volcano" Choy - Avalon Hotel
Sunday, February 16th

Toes were tapping and heads were bopping for this Jazz Erie sponsored event held at the Avalon Hotel and billed as a Valentine’s show. Choy, a trumpet player was originally born in Hawaii, studied in Los Angeles and now lives in Pittsburgh. Choy’s backing band consisted on local musicians Steve Trohoske (bass guitar), Frank Singer (guitar) and Brad Amidon (drums).

The show was exceptional, the playing phenomenal, with standards and special Valentine Day themed songs such as "I Love You" and "Our Spanish Love". All four musicians, who, due to inclimate weather did not even rehearse together, soared effortlessly through both sets, appearing to have played together for a number of years. The musicianship was top shelf!

Steve Trohoske, also provided cabaret style humor with stories and jokes in between almost every number. Not only is he talented, he’s truly funny as his conversation with the audience was comfortable, genuine and completely unlike the usual musician/audience banter you hear at most shows. Jazz Erie also gave away CD’s and a dozen roses, putting a special touch on the whole evening.

Oh, we forgot the digital camera, so there’s no picture, but it's not like they were that good looking and isn’t jazz all about closing your eyes and losing yourself in the music anyway? - review by John Johnston.

Top of Page