To All Battle of the Bands Artists and Families

Congratulations.  What happens on Saturday, October 2^nd will be the first stage of a culmination of effort by a great many people that desire to promote and support music for youth in our community.  Although SBYMA is well represented by the bands we have participating, there will be many more unaffiliated youth bands that will compete that have nothing to do with our organization.   This is truly a community event.

Here is the parent and artist planning detail for the Battle of the Bands Preliminaries this week:

1. On Thursday evening, Sep 30, 5:30, at Live Culture, time slots for auditions will be drawn out of a hat by each band’s representative.  If a band representative is not on hand for a particular band, the draw will be made on the band’s behalf.  If a band wants to swap a time slot with another band, this is allowed and Thursday evening is the only time provided to do it.  Friday morning, the schedule must be locked in granite for the event media and public relations.  The Senior Division will generally be judged in the morning and the Junior Division generally judged in the afternoon.  However, if, for example, a mid-morning Senior Division team swaps with a late afternoon Junior Division team, this is allowable.

2.        Please note that, before today, the Junior Division was to audition in the morning, and the Senior Division was to perform in the afternoon.   The late notice change is regrettable but necessary for scheduling reasons.

1. The Senior Division bands will be expected to show up at the Marjorie Luke at 8:00 A.M. Saturday morning for a review of the rules and a briefing of how the day will progress.  The bands can disperse if they like until ½ hour before they play, when they are expected to be backstage and getting tuned up and ready to go on.  Any band member can be backstage at any time during the day, but no teachers, mentors or family members are allowed backstage AT ALL.  If a band member needs help, there will be adult professional assistance available from 7:30 a.m. until the end of the day.

1. The Junior Division bands will be expected to show up at the Marjorie Luke at 12:00 noon for a review of the rules and briefing.  If a band slated for the afternoon chooses to show up at the morning review, this is allowed.  See item 3.
2. Family and fans are welcome in the audience for the whole day; there is no admission, so as soon  as you know when your band is playing, let all family and friends know so they can be there to support the kids with a live, active audience.  THIS IS IMPORTANT!  Some of the bands will not make it to the finals; this is the time to show them how much they are appreciated.
3. At least one band representative, and preferably the whole band, is expected to be back at the Marjorie Luke at 4:30 P.M. Saturday afternoon for the judge’s announcement of finalists.

Two final notes:
This is a competition that will happen only once a year.  This is the first year.  There may be conflicts with soccer or volleyball or some other such thing.  Send your regrets to the other such thing.  There are many soccer and volleyball games in a season, but only one Battle of the Bands that will showcase your kids in front of local Santa Barbara media and industry professionals.  Not that I expect any of our musicians to be the next JR Richards… but you never know.

And finally, some of the younger, newer bands will simply not be as good as the older bands that have been together longer.  It is our belief that the less polished and less experienced musicians will see the better bands and understand that something better is within their own reach, and they will be motivated to work harder to get to the next level.  Any band that doesn’t make it to the finals this year will know what it takes to get to the finals next year.   This is a great experience for the kids, please help us to make it as good as it can be.

Time to Rock the Luke,

Ed Seaman

Chairman of the Board

Santa Barbara Youth Music Academy

805.845.4949

805.858.0329

American Idols?

As you may know, SBYMA has been planning a HUGE event for Santa Barbara County – a youth battle of the bands. We are thrilled to showcase the musical talents of young people in the county and to give these young people the opportunity to perform for a large audience! There are many people hard at work–plotting and planning and pining–to ensure that this event will be as successful as we imagine it to be. While it may be too early to release all of the details, I am way too excited about it to keep my mouth entirely shut.

Therefore, by the power vested in me, I will be releasing some information about the

PRIZES!!!!!!!

Yeah, now you’re listening! One of the (many!) exciting prizes that we are going to offer the first place bands is a Q&A Session with our celebrity judge panel!

Alright, alright–Randy, Paula, and Simon won’t be judging… They offered but we just didn’t think we could subject your children to the wrath of Simon. But the SBYMA Battle of the Bands Final Round will have five judges, each one a successful, recognizable representative of their respective industries.  The winners will have the opportunity to get to know each of the judges, learn about their experiences and struggles, and obtain invaluable advice as they pursue their dreams in the music industry.

Want to know who the judges are? You’re just going to have to come back soon and find out!