BC'S BEST TEEN BAND CONTEST ANNOUNCES TOP 10

Youthink magazine, Tom Lee Music and 100.5 The Peak FM have announced their Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest!

A group of music industry judges selected the Top 10 artists from nearly 50 entries across the province. The bands are now featured on bandcontest.youthink.ca where voters will determine the Top 3, which will be announced on February 8, 2011.

The Top 3 finalists will compete live at Tom Lee Music Hall on April 30, 2011 for the title of BC’s Best Teen Band. A panel of industry judges will determine the winner and the first-place band will receive amazing prizes including:

• $3,000 cash for artist development
• A recording session with Jay Evjen of Juicemix Productions at The Factory Studios
• A songwriting session with Shaun Verreault of Wide Mouth Mason
• A guitar and gift certificates from Tom Lee Music
• Tuition to Next Level Learning Centre + more!

Youthink, Tom Lee Music and 100.5 The Peak FM launched the second annual BC’s Best Teen Band Contest in October 2010, with over $10,000 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 educate them on how to advance their music careers.
 

Congratulations to the finalists (in alphabetical order):

Alexandria Maillot from Maple Ridge, BC

School: Mark R. Isfeld
Genres: Indie pop with a touch of soul
Major Influences: Fleetwood Mac, Etta James, The Stampeders, Coldplay, Ella Fitzgerald

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
It feels wonderful. Us young artists/bands are so fortunate to have these types of opportunities and have individuals like the team from Youthink magazine who care about our future in music and want to help us gain more exposure and experience.

Why should people vote for you?
I am currently in the process of recording my debut EP. We all know how costly it is to record, so to have the ability to make it through the voting round and potentially win first place would be a complete benefit to my project.

All The Way from Coquitlam, BC

Schools: Riverside Secondary School and Centennial Secondary School
Genre: Pop Rock Alternative
Major Influences: Maroon 5, John Mayer, King of Leon, the music from Lion King, Hedley, Muse

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
Tyler: I am astonished and happy that we have made it to BC's Top 10! And this has given me confidence and encouragement.
Nic: It’s awesome! I hope we go “all the way” and win it!
Luke: It’s sick! I’m so pumped. We will rock so hard that the audience will have no socks.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
Eli: Definite promotion from where we stand now! If we win this title, I’m sure this will push our band into working harder to making more songs and creating an album! :)
Hans: This would mean we have our name out there and have a bigger audience enjoy All The Way’s music!
Luke: This means time for us to rock harder! The whole world will now have a shortage of socks.
 

The Archers from Victoria, BC

School: Stelly's Secondary
Genre: Alt-Indie-Folk
Major Influences: Hey Rosetta!, Mumford & Sons, Death Cab For Cutie, Joel Plaskett, Jay Malinowski, Fleet Foxes, Ben Folds, The Zolas, Broken Bells

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
It feels amazing! Most of the band was up till midnight waiting to see if the results were gonna come in as soon as the clock struck January 7th, and we were ecstatic when we got the news. The love and laughter that filled our school's hallways was euphoric. We're just happy that people enjoyed our sound and thought we were good enough to compete against so many other very talented young musicians.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
It would definitely put us on the map, and that's really what we are wanting. We would have the ability to play more shows, have our music heard, gather more fans, even getting into the top 3 would give us that. Having the kind of exposure that winning this contest would give us would be a dream come true. We could start working on an album to follow up our soon to be released home recorded EP, having some professional recordings would open up so many doors for us - we could get radio time, start touring, who knows where winning could take us! Winning would mean being able to take the first step towards our future careers as musicians, a tough road to take without the proper support or opportunities.
 

Far From Fiction from Vancouver, BC

School: Vancouver Technical Secondary
Genres: Pop-Rock, Alternative Rock
Major Influences: All Time Low, Journey, Fleetwood Mac

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
It’s an incredible achievement. We wouldn't have expected to be chosen among so many talented bands who entered. To be in the Top 10 gives us the edge and confidence to pursue the next step.

Why should people vote for your band?
We are passionate in what we do. Playing as an ensemble and writing music is what we look forward to at the end of the day. We entered this contest to take a chance on pursuing our dreams. People should vote for us because we believe we have what it takes to be BC's Best Teen Band of 2011.

Who are your biggest inspirations?
Watching our favourite bands and artists perform live is our biggest inspiration. Seeing how much energy they have on stage make us want to be a part of it all.
 

Hailey Morgan from Langley, BC

School: Homeschooled
Genres: indie pop/rock
Major Influences: Evanescence, Sara Bareilles, Billy Joel, The Beatles

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
It feels absolutely amazing! I'm super stoked to be a part of the contest and to have such an awesome opportunity to grow as an artist!

Why should people vote for you?
I want people to vote for me because THEY want to. Whether they just heard my music for the first time or have been listening to it for years they should vote because they love it! And if I make it into the Top 3, I promise you I am going to make one fantastic and crazy YouTube vid to thank all of them!

Who are your biggest inspirations?
I'm gonna have to go with one of the most popular and inspirational bands of all time - The Beatles. I can't remember a time when I wasn't listening to their music. They were true musicians - to have the courage to write songs so unique and so different - from brilliant storylines no one you could ever imagine to some amazing arrangements. That's the type of musician I want to be.
 

Ivory Coast from Abbotsford, BC

Schools: Yale Secondary and MEI Secondary
Genres: Alternative, Indie
Major Influences: Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Death Cab For Cutie, Wintersleep, Coldplay, Patrick Watson, The National, Sigur Ros

Who are your biggest inspirations?
Our older siblings. A lot of our older brothers were in bands and were the ones that got us interested in music.  We are all the youngest siblings in our families.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
Winning this contest would really help us get our music noticed. Some of the prize money would go towards equipment we need. Getting to work with professionals would be an excellent opportunity for us.  It would give us a chance to learn new things and better our skills. We always strive to expand on our musical abilities.
 

Patrick Kelly from Kelowna, BC

School: Rutland Senior Secondary
Genre: Rock/Pop
Major Influences: Coldplay, Jack's Mannequin, Acceptance, John Mayer

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
It feels awesome, especially with the press coverage. It feels great to be able to say I'm in the Top 10 BC's best teen bands/artists.

Why should people vote for you?
I'm not asking stangers to vote for me. If my music can make someone happy, or make them think about something in a new way, and they want to help me out, they can help by voting for me. I appreciate every single vote. I like to release music for free as much as I can. I think anyone who wants to listen to my music should be able to. If people want to support me, they can come to my live shows, and help me by voting in competitions like this.

What would winning the contest mean you?
Winning this contest would obviously be extremely beneficial. The chance to record a single with a recognized industry professional would be amazing, and any prize money would simply go towards recording more, and releasing more music!
 

Ready Steady Go from Burnaby and North Vancouver, BC

Schools: Alpha Secondary, Lucas Centre and Windsor House
Genre: RockaSkegGae (rock/ska/reggae)
Major Influences: Sublime, Pink Floyd, Red Hot Chili Peppers

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC's Best Teen Band Contest?
It feels exciting! It feels good to have made the Top 10 alongside so many other great artists.

Why should people vote for your band?
Our goal is to try to inspire people and make the world a better place! Whether or not you vote for us is your choice.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
Winning this contest would fuel our aspirations both fiscally and emotionally. It would give us some great exposure and a valuable experience.

The Stirs from Chilliwack, BC

School: G.W. Graham Middle Secondary
Genre: Alternative Rock/Post-Punk
Major Influences: Pixies, the Strokes, Interpol, Led Zeppelin, Nirvana, the White Stripes

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC's Best Teen Band Contest?
Great. We're happy to have the opportunity to get our music out to more people's ears.

Why should people vote for your band?
We believe we've got an interesting sound and an even better live show. We give every gig we play 110 per cent. Blood and sweat. In order for us to show you just how intense we can be, you've gotta vote.

Who are your biggest inspirations?
Anyone who creates anything that they put passion into. Our favourite bands and musicians include The Strokes, Pixies, Jack White, MGMT, Sonic Youth, Interpol and Nirvana.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
It would mean that more people would get to hear the music that we make and we would like that very much.
 

Stoned Optic from Victoria, BC

School: St. Andrew's Regional High School
Genre: Pop-Punk
Major Influences: Blink 182, Green Day, life, girls, friends

How does it feel to have made the Top 10 for BC’s Best Teen Band Contest?
We feel extremely privileged to have been selected as one of the top ten best teen bands in BC. Music is such a significant part of all our lives. We can only dream of turning our passions into a career.

Why should people vote for your band?
People should vote for us because we write songs we enjoy playing and hope people enjoy listening to.

Who are your biggest inspirations?
Some of our biggest inspirations are family, friends, life and musical influences such as Blink 182 and Green Day.

What would winning the contest mean to your band?
Winning this contest would not only lead us down the right road, but also give us some of the tools necessary to help us become the band we know we can be.