1-2-3-4 Rock! Category: RAWK Final Four This article has been read: 1439 times. by Mike Corrigan We're now in year four of the RAWK Final Four, and once again they'll be kicking in the door. That's right, scenesters, the teen band competition to end all teen band competitions is back to light up the town. And this year, they've made it better than it was before — better, stronger, faster. Look for it each weekend over the next month at the fabulous new Fat Tuesday's Concert Hall. Advance tickets to each of the Final Four shows are available from the bands for $7. You can also purchase a pass for the entire event for $25 at 4,000 Holes and Boo Radley's. A staunch supporter of all-ages live music and teen scene development in Spokane, the local nonprofit group RAWK the Inland Northwest will once again be presenting its annual teen band battle featuring 20 bands from the Spokane/Coeur d'Alene area. This year's competition will kick off this Saturday night with local bands Catalyst, the Electrostatics, Your Name Here, Johnny Get Down and A Solid Something. Here's the skinny on the competition: Five bands will face off each week in one of four preliminary rounds to be held on Jan. 15 (this Saturday night), Jan. 22, Jan. 29 and Feb. 5. Audience members will decide each round's winner via ballot — along with a "wild card" choice. Winning bands from each round will receive $100 and the right to advance to the RAWK Final Four on Saturday, Feb. 26, to compete for the grand prize — in this case, a weekend of free recording time (travel expenses paid) with producer Isaiah Vering at Delve Music studios in Seattle. The Electrostatics is a seven-man ska unit from Spokane whose members attend either Ferris or L.C. With the exception of bassist Brian McConkey (who's still an L.C. freshman), all are currently in their sophomore year. Brian's brother, Aaron shares vocal — and guitar — duties with Luke Erler. The rest of the ass-whooping, horn-driven instrumental force is supplied by Brian McConkey (bass), Kevin Lemberger (drums), Philip Pintor (trumpet), Tony Currie (trombone), and Kelly Fox (guitar). Spokane nightlifers (RAWK aficionados, in particular) will likely note that Erler and the McConkey brothers made an appearance at last year's Final Four tournament as members of former local band Immunity. Aaron McConkey is also a current member of Mylestone, yet another local band that will take its turn in the Final Four on Feb. 15. Formed last summer, the Electrostatics initially thought of themselves as a three-piece punk band. "One day, Aaron and I were jamming in Luke's basement," explains Fox. "We were sort of freestyling a song that was easily considered very cheesy pop punk. After Luke heard us playing, he joined us on the drums and to our surprise, we were very happy with the combination." Fox says the new band's initial songs contained essentially nonsense lyrics. "But there was something very catchy about that song," he says. "So it was decided that we would start a joke punk band." Then there came the name, inspired by a static floor sweeper called (what else?) "The Electrostatic." The band grew in membership and quickly evolved into a ska outfit. After the encouraging response they received at the first Electrostatics show, the guys realized that their little joke of a band actually had something going for it. But according to Fox, that doesn't mean the group has allowed "serious" aspirations to drain away the fun. "We're still do a lot of pretty quirky things," he says. "Like utilizing a toy robot for a song intro and playing our infamous 'Zombie Nation Jam.' " The band is in the process of recording a seven-song demo entitled Waxbody. Following the Final Four event this Saturday night, there will be a free late-night show at Fat Tuesday's: a KCDA listener-appreciation party featuring instrumentalist/singer-songwriter and national touring artist Tony Furtado. This show will start at around 11 pm. Stick around for it. Posted by: rawkmandale - January 13th, 2005 Back to News Articles View Articles From RAWK Final Four Category