A Battle of the Bands takes place at a local church, in hopes of building a bridge between the church and local youth.
By Leora Rae/Special to The Malibu Times
Rocking to raves by frantic teens, a myriad of musicians hustled onto the stage in the auditorium that was filled with more than 500 fans. Video screens around the auditorium gave the crowd a distraction between sets. Audience members scrambled to answer trivia questions in hopes of winning one of many prizes offered throughout the evening.
No, it wasn’t a stadium rock concert; creating their own score to present to industry judges, 11 area rock and punk groups were chosen to compete in the Battle of the Bands that was hosted by the Malibu Vineyard on Aug. 24.
Giving it their best shot, local bands played their hearts out in the allotted 10-minute sets.
“There were 35 entries for this competition,” explained Grant Owen, a youth minister at the Vineyard. “We gave preference to the bands from Malibu. We are trying to become a bridge between the church and the community.”
Fans of the band Simon Dawes were treated to original tunes, and an intense performance by the band judged best of the bands. Captivating the audience with animated vocals, Taylor Goldsmith, 16, delivered stylin’ keyboards, reminiscent of Randy Newman. Rounding out the rock riffs of Simon Dawes are vocalists Blake Mills, 15, on guitar, and Damon Webb, 22, on bass. From behind the glass, sticks were wailing as percussionist, Alex Orbison, drove home the rhythm on drums.
The first prize benefactor, BPS Studios, presented the winner of the Battle of the Bands with 30 hours of studio time to put down tracks for a demo tape, and 20 hours of production time. Antonio Delgado of BPS congratulated Simon Dawes at the close of the evening. The judges agreed with the reaction of the fans by awarding the young men a prize worth an estimated value of $5,000. The band plans to go into the studio within the next month.
Second place (and $500) was locked up by Vital, a band from Chatsworth that has performed together for two years, and recently played at the Key Club in Hollywood. Aria Decline, another band of Malibu musicians was awarded third place. The $250 in cash went to this six-piece outfit made up of guys (ages 18-22) who desire “peace and a free car wash.”
Music industry producers Max and Laura Adams of Indieworld Entertainment worked out the promotional details, as the night of competition unfolded. More than 500 teens from across the Valley and Malibu attended. They danced and cheered to the tunes that were played at full volume. Despite ringing eardrums, there were quite a few parents in the crowd, proud to support their kids.
“We try and attend every time the guys play,” said Leonard Goldsmith, father of lead singer for Simon Dawes. “Taylor has been playing piano and guitar for about five years.”
Mixing it up with Orbison and Webb, Goldsmith and Miller became Simon Dawes just five short months ago. Malibu based percussionist Orbison, who is the son of the late, great Roy Orbison, and bass player Webb, also play with another band called Whitestarr.
“We will continue to rehearse throughout the school year a couple of times a week,” Goldsmith said. “Blake and I need to finish school. We hope to play the Roxy again, and maybe the Malibu Inn.”
Other musicians who vied for a prize at the Battle of the Bands were: Audiophile, Insignia, Paluka, Mr.Scratch, Otis, Tobias, For the Record and Stick Boy Dynamo.
Industry players contributed their time as judges for the contest.
Working together with the promoters to host the Battle of the Bands, the church opened its doors to teens from both sides of the Santa Monica Mountains. The Vineyard hosts FKA Live, a Friday night program of Christian rock and youth activities, giving young adults (through 25 year-olds) an opportunity to relate through their love of music.
“We were pleased with the turn out,” Owen said. “We will definitely have another Battle of the Bands. And hopefully, this event has provided the chance for local youth to see that today organized religion has a place for kids of all backgrounds and beliefs.
“We would like to be there for those young adults who need help, and somewhere to go. Malibu does not have many places for high school and college age youth.”
Local merchants donated prizes for the audience members.
“We were thankful for all the community support. The businesses were very generous,” Owen commented.
Owen finds it important to reach out to the young adults of this city. Hosting the Battle of the Bands gave these local musicians the opportunity to really live out their dreams … of one day becoming a rock star.