BC’s Best Teen Band Contest Top 3

Here are the Top 3 for BC's Best Teen Band Contest 2012!

Youthink has announced the Top 3 artists for BC's Best Teen Band Contest. Congratulations to the finalists:

1. Kate Kurdyak – an indie-folk artist from Vancouver
2. Derrival – a rock band from Langley
3. Shadows – an alternative band from Surrey

The Top 3 bands were determined by over 1,800 online fans who cast over 18,000 votes from January 16 to February 20, 2012 at bandcontest.youthink.ca.
 
The Top 3 will receive a professional photo shoot and will compete live at Electric Owl for the title of BC’s Best Teen Band on April 28, 2012. A panel of industry judges will determine the ultimate winner and the first-place band will receive amazing prizes including:

• $2,000 for artist development
• A recording session with Jay Evjen of Juicemix Productions at Greenhouse Studios
• A songwriting session with Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason
• $500 worth of gift certificates from Long & McQuade
• The May/June cover of Youthink magazine + more!

Youthink launched the third annual BC’s Best Teen Band Contest in October 2011, with over $20,000 in prizes and opportunities up for grabs. The competition gives young bands from across the province a chance to showcase their music, connect with key players in the music industry and learn how to advance their music careers.

Get to know the Top 3 for BC's Best Teen Band Contest!

Kate Kurdyak from Vancouver

School: Lord Byng Secondary School
Genres: Indie/folk/pop
Major influences: Leonard Cohen, Jamie Cullum, Damien Rice, Joni Mitchell, Mumford & Sons, John Williams and The Beatles
Bach, Tchaikovsky and Chopin for inspiring my love of classical music and my grandmother for introducing me to music before I could walk and talk.
 
YT: Who are your biggest inspirations?
KK: I am always so impressed by local artists who have been able to create careers in music, and who have made me proud to be a part of the Vancouver music scene. Dan Mangan, a musician who, in fact, went to my high school, has seen his career soar in the past few years and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed following his success. I’m very inspired by musicians like K’naan, who has been a voice for the people of Somalia and has used his talent for social change in the world, which is something I aspire to do.
 
YT: What would winning the contest mean to you?
KK: Regardless of what happens, I am so grateful to have made it this far. Winning would be a huge leap forward for me as a musician. The publicity and exposure alone is invaluable and this contest is a great opportunity to get my music out there. A songwriting session with Shaun Verreault from Wide Mouth Mason would be amazing, and a recording session with Jay Evjen would be a wonderful opportunity for our whole group to record together. Winning this contest would open a lot of doors for me.

Derrival from Langley

School(s): Langley Fine Arts & D.W. Poppy
Genre(s): Experimental/progressive/rock
Major influence(s): We are the City, Tokyo Police Club, Said the Whale, Aidan Knight, Bombay Bicycle Club
 

YT: Who are your biggest inspirations?
D: The people who listen to and support us. We can't express how much we appreciate the things you do for us.

YT: What would winning the contest mean to you?
D: Being caught up in the busy life of a student makes it hard to earn money for recording, organizing shows and increasing our fan base. Winning this contest would allow us to reach out to more people.

Shadows from Surrey

School(s): Queen Elizabeth Secondary, Douglas College
Genre: Alternative indie rock
Major influences: The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys
 
YT: Who are your biggest inspirations?
S: Each of us has very different taste in music, so we pull inspiration from different artists and genres when making our parts and put them all together to make our sound. We each decided to list a few:

• Chris (drummer) gets his inspiration from drummers like Travis Barker, Mike Portnoy and Buddy Rich.
• Kyle (bassist) gets his inspiration from bands including RHCP, illScarlett, Muse and Sublime.
• Dianne (guitarist) is inspired by bands like the Arctic Monkeys, The Joy Formidable and any band with riff heavy songs.
• Ashley (vocals, guitar) is inspired by bands including The Strokes, Arctic Monkeys, Dead Man's Bones, Ink Spots and Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

YT: What would winning the contest mean to your band?
S: If anything, winning this contest would make us more focused and driven. Just getting into the Top 10 has already made us realize that people actually see something interesting in our music and that maybe there's something there that makes us special. If we manage to win, it'll definitely help us out, especially with recording and getting our name out there.

Check out the Top 3's video entries below!

Kate Kurdyak:

Derrival:

Shadows: