Christian pop/alternative group The Birdsongs were the first incredible band out of the gate Saturday, September 8, at Big Mama’s Karaoke Café, for the Battle of the Bands summer concert series. Photo by David Grimes
More than one hundred bands will have put it all on the line in Seymour by the time the Battle of the Bands, hosted by Big Mama’s Karaoke Café and the Tennessee Productions, Inc. family of business, and co-sponsored by the South Knox · Seymour Times draws to a close.
But that’s months away, and last Saturday’s hopefuls pulled out all the
stops to make sure they are the favorites, chosen by Internet voters
and a crack panel of industry experts, to be the winners of a huge raft
of fantastic prizes and the chance to be named first place winners in
one of two categories in this year’s tilt.
Even more exciting is the chance for each performer to be featured on a
brand-new television show, Knox Rocks TV, airing each Saturday night at
11:30 pm on MyVLT2, the digital subchannel for WVLT, which can be found on Charter Cable channel 15, and Comcast Cable channel 213.
Leading off last week’s outstanding slate of talent were The Birdsongs, a family who’ve been rocking and rolling together for eight years.
The Jacksboro, TN sextet, originally from Seattle, WA, features Wendell
Birdsong on guitar, Matthew on bass, Ben on guitar, Coleene on acoustic
guitar and violin, Timothy on keyboards, and Philip on drums.
The family brought their brand of Christian pop and alternative rock to
the state-of-the-art Seymour stage with professional polish and packing
a powerful pop punch. Casting their net in deep waters with cheerful
abandon, the six-piece combined charming harmony vocals with a solid
wall of sound, and broadcasted their faith-based musical ministry to
the delight of the crowd, even cranking up an electric version of
“Rocky Top” in homage to the homestanding Vols.
Following hard on the Birdsong’s heels were metal outfit Interdimensional,
a rock-solid three-piece on a mission. Featuring the guitar and vocal
stylings of Jason Lane, Interdimensional spread their sonic attack
across time and space, a galactic gutsy Gibson grind, fueled to the
stars by Bryan Norris’ bombastic bass and Mark Smith’s extraterrestrial
beat.
Blasting off on a fearsome flame of fretwork, the trio set the controls
for the heart of the sun, firing furious original tunes at the
appreciative audience with dead-eyed marksmanship.
Next onstage were the dynamic quintet Pains & Sins,
a hard-rocking metal outfit that made the trip to Seymour from
Jennison, AL to curdle the night air with an outstanding set of
originals and covers calculated to crisp the crowd’s ears and drive
home a dump-truck of ten-penny nails into their hearts.
Fronted by the big pipes of Ray Small, the five-piece laid their pains
and sins bare for a rocking crowd, set off by the excruciating lead
guitar work of the technically excellent Shane Danzey, with solid
fundamentals supplied by the rhythm guitar of Jason Martin and backed
by the terrific beat of drummer Eric Anderson and Jeremy Martin’s
throaty bass roar.
Putting the crowning performance on Saturday night’s festivities was a reprise appearance from The Dead Sun Theory, back to deliver another pounding that if anything was more incredible than their last.
Taking their lead from the stellar vocals of Keith Collins, the five
piece opened up a black hole into which the captivated audience was
inexorably drawn. Like the baneful glow of a dying star, the quintet
poured a massive dose of radiation into the cool night air, burning an
afterimage into the minds of attendees that won’t be soon forgotten.
Jim Lingenfelter and Josh Lyles, in a guitar binary system that rotated
around a common center of gravity, spun off scintillating satellites of
sound, aided ably by the double attack of bassmaster Jared Homamt, a
devilish dervish with more moves than an interstellar shuttle, and
skins virtuoso Travis Janeway, a one-man nuclear detonation with an
unerring ear for awesome destruction.
If you missed last week’s incredible installment of Battle of the
Bands, get your family together for a fun night of fantastic music. Big
Mama’s Karaoke Café has added a huge high-definition big-screen
television to their outdoor venue for this Saturday’s slate, so you
won’t miss a minute of exciting football action while you rock out with
the crowd at Seymour’s premier music venue.
And don’t forget to visit www.karaokecafe.com,
where you can view and download audio and video of every band’s live
performance and post-show interview to your computer or handheld
device, and vote for your favorite performers as they vie for a slate
of astounding prizes in two distinct categories.
