Auditions Revealed! - SBOTB2006

I was more than ready to meet the newly-joined bands hot & fresh from the oven during the weekend of auditions line-up on July 8th and July 9th 2006.

The sudden downpour of rain on Sunday afternoon didn't really dampen the spirits of the competing bands and everyone arrived at Planet Paradigm to realise the moments of each participating bands' performance and deliverance.

We have seen 40 joining bands display their talents and skills on stage over the weekend. And we're glad to see a big number of the participating bands that made it to the next Quarter Final rounds which will take 5 weeks of operations. Of the bands that have performed for the auditions are : Dark Illusion, Splendid Adjustment, Dark Chocolate, 13-Stitches, Mythician, Broken Valentine, Blizzard, Cataclysm Children, Table For 4, Blaster Foundation, The Geeks, The Eight Sevens, Declaration Of Independence, Mooks, Capo @ 5, Savage, Epitome Of Beauty, Issue 11, Poetic Justice, Haphazard, Kings' SlaveZ, Claw Rockers, Kegs, Silver Throne, Three Time Failure, Chaos, Ignitionz, Crossover, Redefined, Z-Survival, Bladez, Bigroad Jamm, Denvil, De Ataq, Nakalistik, Virus 66, Zyklon-X, Say Whale, Desert Rose and Magica.

The audience are curious about who these bands are and we had a little intro interview with some bands picked randomly from the audition round.

My first interview was with a band that prefers to deliver things a bit soothing and easy listening eventhough they have a knack for Rock as their concept. DARK CHOCOLATE is headed by vocalist Sarah, guitarists Zaini & Bani, bassist Mustafa, drummer Adie who deems special in his capabilities despite being disabled in a small way and will later be joined by Shan on vocals and Ayie on guitars. Being set up together for a year, DARK CHOCOLATE is actually a compendium of two bands whom each individual definitely comes from diverse music background. As for Dark Chocolate, the members agreed it to be of versatility with Rock roots in their blend and they intend to feature Japanese songs to the audience in the future. Check out Dark Chocolate at the upcoming Quarter Final rounds and show your support for this special band.

I am actually intrigued by the personas of this next Rock band who've named themselves SAVAGE and is made up of Liz on vocals, Wan and Zat on guitars, Sani on Bass and Zed on guitars. From what I can really feel, these rocker guys are far much younger than many other contenders in the competition and of course much younger than myself too. However, their passion for 70's and 80's Rock is still 'rock never die' attitude. I mean, these SAVAGE guys will put in extra effort to practice harder for the upcoming quarter finals for they wish to move further in the scene. Liz, the vocalist, (he's a young outgoing lad by the way) trusts his band can go far with the opportunities in hand. The band is looking for gig slots islandwide. With all their beliefs & perseverance ahead, they will make it far.

Everybody loves new sounds and everybody will love new genres being introduced into the competition. I have watched Indie-Rock band EPITOME OF BEAUTY perform on Saturday at Planet Paradigm and I have made an earmark for this local band that has been gigging around for quite a while since they started out in late January of 2006. Syed on vocals, Hilmi on guitar, Hafiz on bass and Ibrahim on drums, are actually classmates from the same school they attended back in year 2000. So far, EPITOME OF BEAUTY has owned two pieces of original songs to call it their own, which they usually will perform in all of their local gigs. They admitted that they have quite a following in the gig scene here. Meanwhile, the band's plan is to aim for the goal and win the competition excellently.

A large, extended band that has joined the competition consists of music students from a private music school. The band have the driving force to give something different to the audience by playing Pop in the Singapore Battle Of The Bands 2006. HAPHAZARD is a merge of two bands from the same music school and they were formed up to meet for this year's competition. Let me introduce to you: Patricia on vocals (she sounded so sweet & so much Daphne Khoo-like), Julian and Jeremy on guitars, Nurni on bass, Joseph on drums, Brian and Amanda on two keyboards. The presence of two keyboards, accoording to Brian, will result to a more full sound, he tips. Check out HAPHAZARD's musicianship skills in their Quarter Final round.

Another band that has caught up with the audiences is THE EIGHT SEVENS which has been set-up since two months before SBOTB2006. The band members have met each other through contacts of friends and get together to play Rock in their performances. Vocalist Sheryl, (Good voice control), girl guitarists Lydia and Sarah, bassist Carissa and drummer Jireh has not arrived wasted at the competition when they read the result that THE EIGHT SEVENS have made it into the Quarter Finals. With their ideas and music skills in hand, I guess what'll be up their sleeves next? I can only wait for their next serving.

I met up with big brothers from the band MAGICA for a small intro of themselves. The band consists of Rahmat on vocals, Md Noh on guitar, Rosman on bass, Ramlan on drums and Jalaini on keyboards. With their quality on-stage, this band of course had their own taste of exposure since way back when they usually perform at weddings and getting involved in various competitions before. Eventhough MAGICA has only been set-up since a month now, these old friends whom got together from different bands has the essence of musicianship skills in them. Magica's concept of Rock aims to win the audiences and also to win successively for the band.

Of course my greatest wish for every of the participating 50-over bands is to flourish in their endeavours and undertake the interest of winning at heart. And I believe that music unites everyone. So, happy performing and please do your best! Singapore needs you to keep the arts moving.

Written By Lizardeouss
Norliza Zain
Public Relations Manager
Singapore Battle Of The Bands 2006