The end is drawing near for Battle of the Bands in Seymour, and the
truly incredible ride will soon be over. But there’s still more than a
dozen acts who dream of getting their big break and the huge pile of
prizes to be awarded the winners in each of two categories among the
hundred-odd competitors who have rocked their way into the hearts of
the crowds, courtesy of Big Mama’s Karaoke Café in Seymour, Tennessee Production, Inc.’s family of businesses, and the South Knox · Seymour Times.
With each performer given both their chance in the spotlight on the
state-of-the-art outdoor stage and an appearance on Knox Rocks.TV, a
brand-new television show airing each Saturday night at 11:30 pm on MyVLT2,
those daydreams are destined to become reality for two lucky bands
struggling to make the cut from the stellar talent displayed so far.
Friday night’s slate included Christian rock outfit Honor Among
Thieves, who plied a gentle and introspective approach onstage. Taking
their name from Christ’s company on Golgotha, lead vocalist Jesse
Turner told the Times his inspiration for the original tunes he writes
comes from everyday life, amply demonstrated by their signature tune Beautiful Song, a quiet ballad drawn from personal experience and fully enjoyable by anyone who’s ever faced adversity.
Big Newton threw down next, and kicked the classic rock genre firmly in
the backside. Composed of members from last week’s competitors Dirt Road Drifters, the trio cranked the amps and the crowd up high.
Lost Mountain Sound
took the opportunity to showcase a new lineup, and then set the house
on fire with their hard-driving bluegrass. Having spent the summer
honing their sound at venues in Gatlinburg, the band sounded even
better than their Spring Fling performance, debuting new material and
showing their chops in a bid to be the best in show.
Seven Day Believer
popped onto the stage first Saturday night, slinging out a bluesy
Christian rock hallmarked by slinky guitars and classic Hammond organ
riffs. Fronted by the outstanding vocalist Amy McCrady, who at times
seemed to be channeling a born-again Bonny Raitt,
the sextet out of Maryville clipped through their set with confidence
born from four years of association, led by the surehanded slowhand of
guitarists Don Bright and Buster Baldwin, perfectly balanced by bassist
Rob McCrady and drummer Rusty McNabb, with percolating keyboards
provided by Roger Schmidt.
Hot on their heels came Oversaken,
a hard rock quartet hailing all the way from Gaffney, SC. With clear
but gutsy vocals from Brian Philbeck, the foursome turned around the
axis of brothers Justin and Jason Rollins, drummer and guitarist,
founded on the rock of bassist Brooks Peeler. Citing a strong influence
from seminal heavy metal stalwarts Black Sabbath,
the outfit made the three-hour trip to Seymour to turn in a set of
crisp originals delivered with practiced, heavy-bottomed crunch.
Despite the preceding performances, 70’s rock/blues quartet Crossfield marched onstage without fear. Leading off with two cover classics from The Who,
the band then read through a set of nine “originals”, but each seemed
based strongly, perhaps too much so, on well-known rock classics. The
lead-off original One of a Kind was anything but, and far too similar
to Joe Walsh’sAll Night Long. The follow-up, Mirror of Your Mind borrowed unashamedly from Gerry Rafferty’s Right Down the Line. By the time they reached Wound To Heal, which was a straight lift in tone and riff from Heart’s Crazy On You, it was clear that while they were entertaining, the outfit had little to offer that was truly original.
But the last act of the evening quickly brought the fire of creativity
to full flame. Though the quartet BLAT were playing their first-ever
show and had to work through some early nerves, they soon put their
heavy metal train on the tracks and stoked the firebox white-hot. With
sing-song verses cast over a heavy blues compositional style, the group
evoked gang-vocal fun not unlike Offspring on their original Be
Someone, then turned immediately to sepulchral laughs and dirge chords
that rang like a death knell for the follow-up.
If you missed Friday or Saturday night’s performances, you can get a taste of each band online at www.karaokecafe.com,
where you can view and download audio and video of every band’s live
performance and post-show interview, and vote for your favorite band.
