MUSIC
BACARDI Rum/The List Unsigned Scottish Band Search
The night before
The heats are finished and the winners have polished their plectrums, tightened their drum skins and loosened their throats with the odd swally or two of BACARDI Rum. Now the heat is on for the final showdown in Glasgow. Words: Jonathan Trew
Well, this is it. The one we've all been waiting for. The big one. The final stage of the first BACARDI Rum/The List Unsigned Scottish Band Search. The winning band is going to walk away with £1000, recording equipment from Sound Control, studio time at Parklane Studios, 500 CD singles, legal advice and PR back~up,
n0t to mention being covered in gIOry and the respect of their peers. Already A&R men have been phoning up The List asking about the competition and showing interest in hearing more from some of the entries. Winning the final won't guarantee a record deal, but it Will get you noticed.
If the final were a horse race then the five bands competing would be odds- on iomt favourites at this stage. Winners of the Glasgow heat, The Goldenhour, have put out a new demo tape since their Victory in the opening round in March and it sounds as though they Just keep getting better. Havmg said that they'll be up against stiff competition in the form of Aberdeen's Dawntreaders. Formed from assorted battle-scarred members of the Scottish music scene (including the former drummer of punk Outfit Oi Poll0i and a minister who recently got his wings), The Dawntreaders were the clear Winners of the Aberdeen heat and celebrated their Win With a lightning fast rendition of the theme tune to Cheers. Yowsa!
If the first two bands to make it through the regional heats were old hands, then Baba Cool bucked the trend in the Edinburgh round. Despite having been together less than a year, they carved their way through a powerful, melodramatic set that won them some friends on the Judging panel.
Young scamps Volley Will be carrying the flag from the Stirling heat having impressed crowds with a neat line in cheeky power pop, synchronised moves (nah really) and matching outfits. Bless 'em. Will they be blown away by the other entrants and their (let's be kind) more mature years or Will Volley’s vigour carry them to the top?
The fifth band competing at the final at King Tut's on Thursday 8 May Will be Bosley, runners-up at the Glasgow
round of the competition. One place in the final had been reserved for one runner-up band throughout the competition and the judges felt that of all the runners-up, Bosley took the biscuit with their dual rap vocals. The criteria for winning the final Will be the same as they have been throughout the heats: whoever puts on the best performance on the night will win the prize.
Whatever the final outcome on the night, a good time will be had by all concerned. Just in case a” the excitement gets too much and you need something to steady
the nerves, BACARDI Rum and a mixer will be flying over the bar for the risible fee of £1. See y’all the're, it'll be the mother of all parties.
Glasgow: King Tut’s, Thurs 8 May, £3.50.
The morning after
Bands galore, amps cranked up to eleven and a bar swimming with BACARDI Rum. Ah, such fond memories of the Stirling heat. Words: Jonathan Trew
Rainbow Rocks was the appropriately named venue for the fourth and final regional heat of the BACARDI Rum/The List UnSigned Scottish Band Search. Outside, the rain was streaming down and pedestrians needed rope bridges to cross the swollen torrents which had taken up residence in the gutters. Inside, the BACARDI Rum was flowmg in much the same fashion but With much more pleasant effects. Meanwhile, on stage, there were six bands and eighteen songs but only one first prize. Something had to give.
Live wires Buzzbomb got things off to a whizz-bang start, all snarling guitars, low-slung instruments and a fistful of attitude. Buzzbomb's energetic post- punk has got enormous potential and it Wouldn’t take much for them to become a significant presence on the more hard-edged side of the scene. Watch out for a review of their latest Single in the next edition of The List,
FIUid prowded the rockiest set of the evening With their lead gurtarist shining out in particular. They did their middle number acoustically, contrasting with the bluesey glam-slam of their other two songs.
Three-piece Kalamazoo mightily impressed one Judge in particular, who suggested that they wouldn't sound at all out of place on one of
Tommy Vance’s rock shows Imagine an updated version of the blues as Sung by an American rock band and you’re maybe halfway there
The Dolly Rockers provided a welcome change of tempo With their sparse acoushc sound. Alternater boasting either a three gUitar Or two gurtar, one paddle in. snare drum line- up, they worked their way through a set of delicately crafted yet robustly structured songs full of Wistful love-lorn WHCS
Runners-up for the evening were
Li
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Action, adventure, excitement, thrills, spills and enough BACARDI Rum for a panda to
‘Iléf
Volley and Ewan MacLeod display some fine dental work
Stacey and their huge beefy indie s0und. 'Tight’ is such a crap, cliched word to use of bands, but Stacey were the dictionary definition. EffiCient and practised, every element of their music slotted into place to produce a fervent and vrtal
set, Volley took the overall Winner’s
prize and grinned
like Cheshire cats that had JUSI done a heist on a creamery, when they got their mitts on some bottles of BACARDI Rum and a cheque for a hundred smackers. Screaming 'FUN!’ from start to finish, their set was
vaguely reminiscent of Supergrass before they went all serious. Choreographed moves on the guitar- swinging front were a definite bonus and proved that musical talent doesn't have to be po-faced to be taken seriously. Volley will be playing at King Tut’s on Thursday 8 May and will get a bite at the lucrative prize cherry that’s been put up by BACARDI Rum, Sound Control and Parklane Studios.
A bonzer monster of a party was had by all thanks to the smooth running of the night by the organisers, the ever helpful bar staff and, of course, the bands. Cheers!
See above for details of the final
2-15 May i997rii£usr49