Beginning April 15, eight musical acts will battle it out in Redmond for gift certificates, studio time and prestige in the Old Fire House Teen Center’s (OFH) fifth annual Rockathon competition.
Fourteen bands from Western Washington sent in applications and demo tapes to the OFH. The final eight, decided by OFH program coordinator Chris Cullen and the competition’s student producers, hail from the greater Eastside, Seattle, Edmonds and Lake Forest Park. The musicians, who must be between 13 and 18 years old, will be performing covers of classic rock songs.
The first two shows in the competition will be at the OFH April 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. and feature four acts each. April 15 will highlight the musical stylings of Nautilus, Roll the Credits, Sound Impulse and Los Gentlemen; on April 16 Pave the Earth, Stuck on a Bus, D-Frost and Rebel Yells will be performing. Tickets for both shows are $8.
Steffane Osborn and Joe Villegas, seniors from BEST High School in Kirkland, were tasked with recruiting bands to tryout. The 18-year-olds are two of five student producers. Osborn said even though they have each taken on specific roles, there is a fair amount of overlapping in their jobs.
“We all kind of work on everything together,” she said.
Once the bands were selected, there has been the task of finding judges for the shows. This fell upon the shoulders of Emily Koch, a sophomore from Redmond High School (RHS). At 16, she has been in charge with finding five judges per night for a total of 15. The bands will be scored based on criteria set by Koch with the top four from both nights advancing to the final competition on May 6. The final show will be at 8 p.m. at OFH with tickets set at $8.
One of the things that Koch said has been great about her job has been the people she has called or met along the way, from local radio personalities to music store owners to local band members. This being said, Koch added that it has been difficult getting people to commit or just to get back to her.
“You really have to bug these guys. You think you have a really good list of contacts of contacts, but it keeps getting shorter and shorter,” she said about potential judges canceling on her.
Aisha Ashraf, 16, and Abu Nayeem Siddique, 17, have been working with sponsors for the shows for funding, advertising and prizes. The two juniors from Eastlake High School in Sammamish, along with the rest of the students, had never been involved in such a production and they all have been learning a lot throughout the process.
Although they come from different schools and only a few had known each other beforehand, the five of them have been able to get along and work well together. They all have different backgrounds and different tastes in music, but Siddique said that doesn’t seem to matter.
“We’re kids,” he said.
Cullen said the Rockathon has been produced by students since its inception when one teen pitched him the idea. He told the teen to make it happen.
“That’s the way we’ve done it ever since,” he said.
Cullen, who has had experience in event production, shares tips with the teens every year as they work to put on the show.
“It is extremely rewarding to work side by side coaching each young production team as they navigate the waters of marketing, sponsors, working with professional musicians and radio personalities for judging,” he said.
With all the hard work they’ve put into it, this year’s producers are anxious for the end result: the shows. They all said actually working the show those nights will bring on a different kind of stress and pressure, but they’re still looking forward to it.
For more information about the 2011 Rockathon, visit http://tinyurl.com/4lrytkm.
