A View from the Judges Table

Last night, I was one of three judges at Jammin Java’s fourth Mid-Atlantic Battle of the Bands, and will be there again tonight and tomorrow night as we choose one band each night (it also took place Monday, but I wasn’t there) to compete for the grand prize - including $$, a headliner show at the club and a recording session - on February 18th.

This is the third time I’ve been asked by the club to be a judge, and it’s a lot of fun. I’m no Simon Cowell, and so I’m not out to dash anyone’s hopes of moving up in the music business, but there are definitely bands I’ve seen and enjoyed at past events - like Sing Me Insomnia, Escape the Armada and The Shields Brothers - that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. My favorites don’t always win, and there are bands I wouldn’t cross the street to see platy again, but everyone who takes the stage got there legitimately. Some don’t have what it takes - yet, or maybe never - but kudos for trying.

 The first band up was a group from local high schools, Friday Harbor, who didn't have much of a crowd due to snow delays, but made their moment count.

Next up was Grand Revival, whose frontman had the look of INXS' late Michael Hutchence and the vocal style of Eddie Vedder.

Nata Ihara, lead singer for a fine local band, We Were Kings, has been the host for many of the nights I’ve judged. He’s a fun, humorous flirt (tell him he’s “dreamy”) and keeps the crowd pumped. When he introduces the three judges, he usually calls me “freelance writer for the Washington Post,” but I haven’t contributed to the paper since they cancelled the biweekly local sections  (one for Arlington, one for Fairfax county) where my “Live!” columns appeared (for five years; it was a great gig while it lasted).

So, last night I told Nate to mention this blog and tell people I would be posting pics from the event. I had only my small point-and-click camera and didn’t want to leave the judges table to get close, so these are not quality shots but, hopefully, they’ll give you a sense of the event and let the participating bands know they were, indeed, being noticed.

The act in the next three shots is Light Speed Rescue. It was the third band to play but took the top spot, winning the night with a nice blend of rock, funk and hip-hop.

The only female on the bill was Robin Cook, who took the bold move of appearing solo, accompanied by a computer playing dance beats and with some cool lighting effects. She was mostly in shadow (sorry about the dim shots) and brought a disco vibe to the otherwise rock-skewed night.

Here's "dreamy" Nate, stopping by the judges table...

Nate took my camera up close to the stage to get a shot of The Elevators, a funk band who were fifth on the bill. That makes them the penultimate band. (Look it up; I love that word!)

 I took this shot of the band's lead guitarist, who played some tasty Pink Floyd-like licks during a longer jam - and yeah, I know Floyd's not technically funky, but it was cool.

And the last band of the night was billed as Scott Norris, led by the lead singer of the same name. Is it just me, or does he have a bit of a Justin Timberlake look? The sound, however, was more straight-on rock.

And finally, here's Nate again, announcing the winner. I can’t tell you how I voted, but suffice to say I think justice was served.

If you read this and you’re coming to any of the remaining Battle nights, stop by the judges table and say hello. And Nate is also giving away free copies of the new We Were Kings two-track CD, which I enjoyed listening to on the ride home. So come to the show and grab one while they last. (O/CD Tally: 15)