TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band V2.0 Semi-Final #1

Swinging into full gear this week was the TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band V2.0 over at TNT’s in Clinton Twp where the 21 week contest is now into the Semi Final rounds that will decide the top 4 finalist. After 16 weeks and nearly 90 bands who competed in weekly preliminary rounds, the field has been narrowed down to the top 16 bands in Michigan, Windsor, and other Surrounding States who are within reach of 89X’s radio broadcast signal. Each weeks winner received a spot in one of the 4 semifinal rounds, studio time over at Metro Recordings to record 1 single for an upcoming 89X compilation album due out this summer, and most importantly, move one step closer to the grand prize of $10,000 & a 5 Song EP courtesy of Metro Recordings Studio. After 16 weeks of rumors & accusations, the scoring procedure has been changed up a bit for the Semi-Final & Final Rounds. Throughout the 16 weeks of preliminary rounds, scoring was compiled in 3 different phases, On-Line Vote, Door Vote, & Performance Vote where the winner of each phase received 1/3 of the points necessary to move on to the semi-final round. Basically you needed to win 2 out of the 3 rounds to win the night and win a slot in the semi-final round. Well commencing with this weeks Semi Final #1. The 3 phases will remain in effect throughout the semi-finals with the same point structure needed to win, but instead of the 33% split for each phase the split will now be totaled as follows: 20% for the “On-Line Vote”, 40% “Door Vote”, & 40% “Performance Vote”. This will bring the contest back in line with their original intention of determining the winner by who really does have the fans coming to their show, while pegging even more emphasis on how the Bands actually perform live! For the Final Round scheduled for May 29^th, the “On-Line Vote” will disappear completely, and the eventual winning band will need to prove how many people they can draw to their show and will need to back that up with a top notch performance that shows they can entertain a crowd with their music! Phew........after 16 weeks the semi-finals are a welcomed sight, where soon we'll have a winner emerge. BTW- we have it from a good source that, yes, they definitely intend to bring back the I’m With The Band V3.0 early next year due to the extreme success the contest is experiencing, so for all the bands who didn’t make the cut this year, the time is now to start preparing those songs and honing your show for your chance to win $10,000! Last night’s Semi-Final #1 proved to be what we believed all along, that this contest’s format would provide some extremely hot nights of music, as Cal Cagno called it “The cream has begun to rise to the top!” Anytime a line-up consists of week 11 winner Fate Arising, week 4 winners Nine8stall, week 3 winner Arazi, & week 1 winner Band With No Name you know you’re in for a great show, and that is exactly what we got tonight. FYI- Week 2 winner Spades Alone has dropped out as they’ve moved out west sucka, taking residence out in the fantasy land of Las Vegas, so a slight shuffle occurred this week in respect to the line up. So with TNT’s filling up fast, the “Online Vote” winner Fate Arising started the night off with an infectious set of rock & roll, pulling in a large crowd which definitely had them in contention for the “Door Vote” tonight. This 4pc power rocker is no stranger to Dr2, having seen them win week 11 of the contest, and recently we’ve been spinning their latest disc “Reflections of a Lost Reality”, a unique collection of modern progressive tunes that bridges the mainstream with an almost conceptual take of their music. That translated into one hell of a set that had everything you’d expect from these guys, and in doing so they positioned themselves as the one to beat tonight. Finishing in 2^nd in the on-line vote this week was Nine8stall which put them in the 2^nd slot tonight in another twist on tonight’s show which reversed the order of performance based on the on line vote. Another fine crowd was in attendance for these guys which witnessed a solid performance by Nine8stall this week, performing their smash up song Party, a real rock & roll anthem! Arazi has been burning up stages all across Michigan lately, and tonight was no different as they came into TNT’s tonight with a mission. Bringing in a respectful sized crowd themselves, this trio unleashed their fury of alt rock, including the song voted on this week Sorry & the title track from their latest offering The Light. With three bands up, and three outstanding performances turned in, it was up to the guys in Band With No Name to finish out the night as they received the lowest amount of on-line votes this week. What transpired next was nothing short of amazing, taking a slightly more than empty room and transforming it into a jam packed rock room! An amazing sight that saw person after person round that corner and lining up to the front of the stage till it was packed shoulder to shoulder all the way back to the 2^nd row of tables! A good lesson this week that proves that in rock & roll it doesn’t matter how many votes are cast in your name, but rather by how many of those fans casting votes will actually show up to your show and shell out $10 just to see you perform. In less than the 15 minutes of load out/load in time between sets, BWNN left no doubt as to who won the “Door Vote” tonight, outpacing every ones expectations with a huge mass of people assembled front and center of the stage ready to rock. With the troupes gathered around, BWNN, fronted by the quintessential rock & roll front man Jeff Gutt, proceeded to roll through their high energy show that sorta leaves you in awe, pounding out such numbers as Criminal, Alone, and the power ballad It’s Over. Providing the thunderous beats, Mike Guy (bass) and Antic (keys, guitars) lay the perfect foundation for Gay Pittel’s (lead guitar) screaming leads and crunching riffs, sending shock waves through the room. By the time the opening riff of Animal Like called to order the mosh pit, erupting with a vengeance every time the chorus hit, BWNN left hardly a doubt as to who won the Performance vote, giving them 80 % of the point total, making them the clear winner of the 1^st Semi Final and landing them in the Finals, one step closer to collecting that all mighty $10,000 Grand Prize! Remember to head on over to the Dr2 Gallery or the Dr2 MySpace page for more pics from the night. Stay tuned as voting is already underway for Semi-Final #2 next Thursday May 9^th, where you’ll find week 5 winner Lithium, week 6 winner Soul Dub, week 7 winner Herd (from Houghton Lake) & week 8 winner No Resolve go head to head for a chance to move onto the finals and a chance at that $10,000 Grand Prize! Detroit Rock Review, The ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews! Support local music before it’s gone!

Rock On

M:

Dakota School House Roxx With Matt Austin & Anthony August Bands

The DR2 crew found themselves in unfamiliar surroundings Friday Night having caught wind of Dakota High School's School House Roxx show featuring 4 bands and 3 acoustic acts comprised of present and former students of the school as well as special guests,  the Matt Austin Band and the Anthony August Band!  I am not kidding, these Pro's were there volunteering their talents to try to help a fundraiser for the instrumental program at Dakota!  It was an interesting night as we witnessed some strong talent from the homegrown groups, including emo-rockers Beyond Hope, punk/garage thrashers A City Warning, metal screamo's Tower, and Hindsight 20/20 who featured a very talented young rock/blues guitarist.  These bands, along with intermission acoustic duo's P.S.I, and 7:13 showed us the future of music is in good hands in Macomb.  The night got weird at the point the locals finished, as sirens sounded weather warnings and many fans had to head home as soon as all was clear.  This did not stop The Anthony August band as they plowed ahead into a set that featured some awesome music, including a couple "first time we played them" originals they had prepped just for that night.  Featuring the guitar licks and vocals of, bandleader, August and the jaw-dropping drums and vocal skills of 12-year-old, Angelo Coppola.  That's right he plays drums AND sings, and he's 12 Years Old!! You really can't appreciate it til you see it, absolutely incredible!  Finally, the night was capped by an unbelievable performance by The Matt Austin Band.  Matt and his crew, Rob and Adam brought their act through the storms from as far as the great white north just to help out the kids of Dakota!  In fact, their inclusion was Matt's own idea, no one called him, he heard about the show and offered to help out! During the load in Matt started out with an impromptu cover of Hinder during his warm up/tune up, which gathered the kids around the stage while the rest of the band was still setting up, and when he abruptly ended he was showered with screams of applause. A surprised Matt continued into a solo of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" much to the approval of the Dakota students! Revved up by the unexpected enthusiasm, The Matt Austin Band ripped through all our favorite Austin tunes as well as some old-school Hendrix and Lynyrd Skynyrd!  Amongst the flurry of camera flashes from the kids in the crowd, they drew another win when they "Rocked the Gymnasium" with their new original, With You. These guys really showed us at DR2 something as they played a show that literally rocked the School! All-in-All we enjoyed the change-of-pace and the music! Kudos to all the student performers and both Anthony August Band and The Matt Austin Band for a great night!

TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band Week 14

So there are only a couple weeks left till the last 2 semi-final positions are filled up for the TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band V2.0 $10,000 contest. Last night over at TNT’s Week 14 of the competition turned out to be a hard fought battle that didn’t really produce an overwhelming winner. Yes that’s right, with the “On-line Vote” going to Impossible Tuesday with 1483 votes over Jamie McCarthy’s 1430, a very close win that went back and forth all week long. Some interesting events that also occurred were the fact that the “Door Vote” was won by the Plaything who actually finished way back in fourth place in the “On-Line Vote” and with the third place finisher Big Pink Black coming in second by only 5 votes! Kind of a strange voting week to say the least! On top of all that, the “Performance Vote” was so so close that this whole week 14 almost ended in a straight out 3-way tie! Tonight there was actually a very good sized crowd, getting back to what had been the norm after a couple miserably attended weeks. First band up tonight was The Flower That Ate New York, a very young band from the eastside whose members range in age from 17 to 19 years old. Dr2 was extremely impressed with this band that may have finished last with the online vote, but in reality, they actually put on the best all around performance of the night! These guys have a great sound, indie pop I guess, using a two lead vocal approach, they at times reminded us of the B-52’s! The focal point of this group really revolves around their two lead singers, Chris, who also bangs on his two tier keys as well as his Roland Piano, and Lianna, who just so happens to have an amazing voice, & can shred her guitar pretty damn well! The interaction between the two captures your attention as they play off one another while trading harmonies. We were lucky enough last summer when we actually seen Lianna during the Fraser Picnic were she was performing with one Jason Hartless from Schram. A real treat to see real music played with such passion, we’ll be keeping our eyes on this young group as we expect big things from them. They’ll be over at New York, New York next Friday April 18^th, The Flower That Ate New York Check it! Next up was a band, The Big Black Pink, a punk band out of Detroit, which also featured a young female singer, Tiffany Marie. These guys brought quite the crowd in themselves, finishing second at the door, another reason why tonight’s vote was a virtual toss up! Bringing a huge voice to the stage, Tiffany Marie has a sweltering vocal which was amazing on their slower pop songs, but admittedly gets lost during their more hardcore punk songs. A newcomer to the group, Tiffany has been busy penning songs for The Big Black Pink that will fit her more mainstream style. Look forward to hearing more from these guys as they are currently working on getting some shows together, including one pegged for Saint Andrews Hall, Check out The Big Black Pink, you can find them in our “Top Friends” over on our MySpace page, or look them up in the Dr2 Band Links. Long time Detroit Music veteran, Jamie McCarthy, who just so happens to the son of Hall Of Fame Radio personality JP McCarthy, finished second in the online vote by a mere 50 votes, in what was a week long see saw battle for the lead. Currently readying a new disc on Flat Belly Records, “Salvation” from McCarthy is slated for a June 7^th release date. Solid set from Jamie who slammed dunked his song that was up for the online vote, Lucy On The Back Of The Bus, a real winner that had quite the reaction from tonight’s crowd. A true musician, McCarthy not only has the voice, but also plays the harmonica and guitar, switching between them all night! Check him out over at the Jamie McCarthy MySpace page! The “Door Vote” winner tonight was Plaything out of the Suburbs of Detroit, where it certainly looked as if they had the biggest crowd tonight. Decent set from this Rock band, check em over at the Plaything MySpace page. Finishing the night out tonight was the “OnLine Vote” winner for week 14, Impossible Tuesday. A straight up rock & roll band who’s been working the scene lately, Impossible Tuesday scored the victory tonight by claiming the “Performance Vote” in what was a real close call as all the bands sets where awesome tonight. Impossible Tuesday has a couple high profile shows on the horizon where you’ll find them playing one of Detroit’s more famous local venues, The Magic Stick on April 26^th before returning to TNT’s for the Semifinals. Hit them up over at their MySpace page for all the details! Check out all the photos from the night over on our MySpace page here! Detroit Rock Review, The ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews! Support Local Music before it’s gone!

Rock on!

M;

Rock 4 The Goal

One thing for sure is that those Grinderettes sure know how to throw down a party! Over at Augies in Madison Heights this past weekend, The Grinderettes held center ice for their latest Benefit for the McCarty Cancer Foundation in what was billed as “Rock 4 The Goal”, a 2 day fundraiser that included 2 nights of music, along with a Saturday afternoon “Street Hockey” game with Team Meltdown vs Team Wrif that featured some of our local music & celeb types hacking away at each other in the parking lot! Rumor has it that the Meltdown guys beat down team Wrif….. Dr2 swung on over last Friday night to check things out and what we found was one rip-roaring evening of extreme musical anarchy! What an amazing Friday Night line-up that saw a number of musical styles mashed together, including; the Indie, Pop-Rock of the Van Go Go’s, the Country Rock of Dirt Road Logic, Blues-Infused Guitar Rock of The Muggs, and the Straight Up Rock & Roll of the Dirty Americans all to benefit the McCarty Cancer Foundation. Wow! If you couldn’t find something to like this night, I’d say we need to check your pulse! Walking into Augies Friday night was like entering the who’s who hall of fame, every few feet was another “hey how ya doing”! Talk about a packed house, the place was filled to the gills as it was already standing room only by 8:45! Great to see so many who are so willing to support great causes and at the same time support local music, hell there were so many bands represented in the house that weren’t playing, they could have had one of them “all star jams”! This was our first time to catch Van Go Go and Dr2 was not disappointed, as these guys laid down one tight set with catchy hooks and solid vocals. Although a relatively new band on the scene, most members have their share of prior experience, evident by their tremendous stage presence that would be fitting of a large arena. You know you’re in for an excellent show when the first band blows you away…….. We were able to catch Dirt Road Logic a while back at one of those infamous Blender-Detroit parties over at the Magic Bag where they opened for Ty Stone. Dr2 was instantly hooked by Eric Kelly’s back-forty vocal delivery, but admittedly, tonight we were disappointed by the absence of their charismatic drummer Luke Elder who is apparently working on a Broadway(?) tour. Between you and me, when a band comes out with what is arguably their best song to open their set, Watch It Burn, then continuously raises the bar on each subsequent tune, then it’s time to run for cover! Check these guys out as they have shows all over the place, including another can’t miss night up at Mac’s Bar in Lansing, opening for The Dirty Americans, along with one of Dr2’s favorite party bands, The Beggars, whose acrobatic front man, Steven Tuthill, was also spotted in the house. When it comes to that good old “Greasy Detroit Rock & Roll”, one needs look no further than Detroit’s own Reality TV Stars, The Muggs. The epitome of local rock & roll, The Muggs Don’t Need No Doctor as one self proclaimed “Dickey” may have insinuated during their recent TV stint, and tonight their version of Humble Pie was proof positive! In true form, The Muggs delivered one helluva of set tonight with Danny Methric putting on a clinic. He is one of the few guitarist that can actually make his guitar sing! Expect big things in the near future as The Muggs have finished recording their sophomore effort over at Tempermill Studios, with a CD Release Party scheduled over at the Magic Bag on May 9^th that will feature another band from FOX’s The Next Great American Band, “Tres Bien” opening for them! Keep your eyes on Detroit Rock Review as we will be getting our hands on an early copy of the new one for a Dr2 View! Closing the door on tonight’s show (or was it slamming?) was none other than everyone’s favorite, yet-unsigned mega-rockers the Dirty Americans! What else can be said about these guys that hasn’t already been said. Having played across the state, nation and world, it’s always a high energy party when they take the stage hammering out Jet Black Holy Water and treating us to some of their new material, including “Snake In The Grass” and “How We Roll” which was recently recorded down in Memphis, TN. Expect a new disc from these guys in the next few months, and rest assured that Dr2 will scramble to get a copy of this one too! A couple of big shows on the horizon will find the Dirty Americans criss-crossing the state from Ypsi to Lansing, and from Flint to Mt Pleasant, check it on the Dr2 Gig Calendar! All-in-all, one great night of rocking hard and raising money, both for the McCarty Cancer Foundation! Now if we can only recover in time for the next Grinderette shindig! Be sure to stop by the Dr2 MySpace page for all the pictures from the night. Until next time, we are Detroit Rock Review, the ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews! Support local music and those who do! Rock On

M:

TNT’s 89X I’m With The Band Week 13

Ok so I’m going to vent here for a moment. WTF was up tonight with these bands dropping out the night of the performance segment? Is it because they lost the online vote segment? I sure would like to know because it seems to be bullshit that when you get squashed by the competition in this NOT ALL THAT IMPORTANT on line vote you run? What about the bands that would of gave up anything for the chance for your slot? Don’t you realize that maybe you would get SOME MORE votes if you would “play out” once in a while in front of people who you may never get a chance to play in front of again (count us in on this one)? Haven’t you checked the previous weeks results where it would be clear to you that the on line winner doesn’t win every time, in fact If you sign up for this kind of contest, then you must have visions of achieving something musically with your band, so why waste the opportunity to play in front of “other” bands fans, the TNT’s staff and 89X radio personalities? Totally amazing, and then they wonder why no one shows up for their shows……

Showing up to TNT’s last night for the 89X I’m With The Band Week 13 contest, Dr2 was totally flabbergasted to learn that not only did Reality Drift (update: Just been notified by Reality Drift that the reason for their no show was due to the fact that their lead singer quit the band via an email 2 days before the week 13 contest began. According to the band, 89X & TnT's were notified but opted to keep their band listed as a participant. Hey we''ll give the band a break and put it all on their ex-lead singer, good luck guys in your search!....now what about I Sky??) drop out of tonight’s performance segment, but I Sky also was a no show. Not sure what happened but obviously they must be on tour somewhere across the pond in Europe. Nonetheless Dr2 wants to give a shout out to the three bands that did show up tonight, Rumblefish, Se7en Year Reign, and MicLordz & The Sauce Funky! Dr2 isn’t accustomed to seeing such a light crowd inside TNT’s on Thursday nights for this battle, but hey, the ones that did show up were treated to some fine “Live” performances. Starting the night off was Rumblefish out of the Port Huron area, a straight up rock & roll band that may need a few more originals, but since the sets were extended because of you know what, we’ll give them a great big round of applause! Good job guys, and thanks for being there to compete, it was well worth it since you did have the only dancers of the night! Check’em out over on their Rumblefish site! Coming in second in the On-Line vote, even though it was by a big margin, Se7en Year Reign is a prime example of what I mentioned above, being a last minute addition last week to week 13, Se7en Year Reign proved they deserved their shot at the Grand Prize by winning tonight’s “Door Vote”. It wasn’t the largest crowd by any mean’s but they did fill the front of the stage with fans as they started their set. Another straight up rock & roll band from over in Farmington Hills, Se7en Year Reign won Dr2 over last night with their unabashed energy that had us taking notice. A 5 piece powerhouse with an exceptional lead vocal, Se7en Year Reign not only had the sound; they have the whole package, playing off of each other with a vengeance and looking as if they’d be just as comfortable on any big stage! We’ll be keeping an eye on these guys and you should to, check out the Se7en Year Reign site as they have a bunch of shows scheduled over at NY, NY & The Ritz. Winning the Online vote hasn’t always guaranteed a win for the night, and tonight was shaping up to be one of those nights. MicLordz and The Sauce Funky, out of Windsor, won the Online Vote by a huge margin with nearly 1200 votes but that did not help much tonight as the votes didn’t translate into votes at the door, finishing slight behind Se7en Year Reign. So with things all tied up & an extremely powerful performance by Se7en Year Reign, the guys from across the river had their work cut out for them. Having more of a hip hop infused rock sound that included dueling MC’s, think of Critical Bill merged with Hatch, The MicLordz would need to count on the fans they brought in to help them get over the top. In what amounted to an all out party on stage, the guys succeeded in drawing their fans into their show with an endless onslaught of rhymes, propelling them into the lead by wining the Performance segment of Week 13, earning them the right to move onto the Semi-Finals May 22^nd here at TNT’s. Check them out over on their MySpace page where they play not only all over Windsor, but have a fair share of shows in and around the D. Remember DetroitRockReview is the ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews, Support Local Music Before It’s Gone! Over!

M:

The Copycat Show

Saturday night found a packed Dr2 Bus heading westward towards The Token Lounge over in Westland for what was billed as “The Copycat Show”, the unique brainchild of Suzie Ferro of Radiocraft. The Copycat Show would be like no other show around where each of the 3 bands playing tonight will cover one song from each of the other bands. Having Radiocraft, Soul Circus, and Ray Street Park on the bill had us anxious for this show ever since Suzie let us in on her plans a few months ago, and the fact that it would be held at The Token made it that much more exciting. Having one of, if not the Best sound systems around for a club this size, The Token Lounge would be a perfect setting for this one of a kind show. Besides, with The Token’s amazing lights, it’s not only a perfect place to hear a show, it’s one of the best places to see a live show where it gives you that feeling of actually being at a rock show! After the initial hello’s were out of the way, it was time for the show to begin. From behind the drawn curtain, the opening chords of Soul Circus’s Flesh & Bones could be heard pumping through the PA, and as the curtain opened, there was Radiocraft! Yes, Radiocraft opening their set with that massive rock & roll song that you only hear Kevin Kanka of Soul Circus perform. But tonight wasn’t any night, tonight was The Copycat show! Unbelievable as Suzie and the boys just ripped it up with the Soul Circus clan hooting and a hollering their approval as Radiocraft gave us their version of this Soul Circus classic. You could tell right then and there that this was going to be a special night. Laying down a 10 song set which had all the classic Radiocraft hits, including a new one called Block Me, Radiocraft continued the onslaught by covering Nobody Knows Me from Queens Of The Stone Age, too cool! Then, putting another twist on the night like only Radiocraft can, they finished their Copycat set by ending with the Ray Street Park cover of “Queen Of Everything” that featured some enormous smiles on the faces of Terry Martin & Rick Strafford of RSP watching in the crowd! When the lights came back up it was amazing to see how many of our area’s rockers and fans were in the crowd catching this magic opportunity, quite the riot. With the night in full swing, and Soul Circus in da house, there could be no doubt that things would soon be getting “Crunk”!  With their new sponsor in tow, Crunk Energy Drink, Soul Circus took to the stage in what has become their trademark Party Mode, kicking out their some their classics before bringing up their “Crunk Girl” who passed (threw) out some free Crunk swag, nearly knocking me to the floor! Ahhh Crunk it, it’s all Rock & Roll to me! Soul Circus chose Radiocraft’s Red for their Copycat tune, much to the pleasure of Suzie Ferro who watched front & center, before dropping the Copycat of RSP’s Fuck Yeah! You just can’t help but enjoy these guys who no matter where or what they do seem to bring the party with them, hell at one point I think Kevin forgot he wasn’t at the Dawghouse, as he frantically searched out something to hang from, finally finding it from atop of KT’s drum riser! Another killer set from Detroit’s favorite party band! With the Token at near fever pitch, it was those Bad Boys from the south side, Ray Street Park, turn to take the stage, wasting no time as they launched into their Copycat of Soul Circus’ Dead Man’s Hymm. What a fitting cover that had the Token’s roof bouncing along to Terry Martin’s thunderous bass, and had mosh pits erupting all around (OK so it was Dr2 Slamming into every one in sight including Overloaded’s Eric Kluiber, go figure!). Not one’s to let off the pedal, RSP blasted through their great classics too, before reaching back to the Red CD for their Copycat of Radiocraft’s Cinderella! Man, if we’ve seen RSP before, we’ve never seen them like this, and it appeared the Radiocraft gang agreed! When your wife turns to whisper (ok yell) into your ear “I didn’t know he had such a range”, then somebody’s doing something right, and that somebody was Rick Strafford, who in Dr2’s opinion, had an amazing night tonight, winning us over for good (including the Dr2 Crew in earnest!). And to top off the night, RSP had Wally from The Unheard join them on stage for a song, then even had Rudy from Mindcandy help them finish off their set, awesome! Damn we love rock & roll, especially when it’s as good if not better than most the shit you hear on the airwaves today and all three bands tonight rocked us out like we were at freakin COBO Arena! We can only hope that this unique idea called “The Copycat Show” will continue to live on, we’d love to see it again, so a big shout out has to go to Suzie of Radiocraft for putting this show together, it was an absolute riot! Remember to head on over to our MySpace page for more pic’s from this fantastic night! And don't forget to check out how to place your votes for Radiocraft & Ray Street Park in the Detroit Music Awards Peoples Choice Awards! Detroit Rock Review, the ONLY place for Local Music News & Reviews! Support Local Music! Rock On!

M: