Final Four Final Category: RAWK Final Four This article has been read: 1164 times. by Leah Sottile and Mike Corrigan So it's all come down to this, the last stand for the four finalists (and one wildcard band) in the 2005 RAWK Final Four local teen band competition. The dust from the four qualifying rounds has settled, and four winners have emerged to engage each other in a winner-take-all final bout. The final duel looks something like this: Catalyst vs. Big Wang Theory vs. Foreign DNA vs. Beaf vs. Mylestone. Everything goes down this Saturday night at Fat Tuesday's Concert Hall. It's gonna be messy, folks — real messy. Just who are these competition-crazed desperadoes? Glad you asked, 'cause we just happen to have a little meet-and-greet set up for ya. With all the bands out there these days adopting monikers so long they seem more like bad poetry than something that would look good on a flier, thank goodness Beaf keeps it mercifully short and direct. This five-piece hails from University High School and consists of Calvin Grenkavich (lead guitar), Chris Bonney (drums), Kevin Darrow (vocals and keyboards), Kris Mayhew (rhythm guitar) and Steven Cutter (bass and vocals). Beaf formed just eight months ago as a way for Bonney, Darrow and Cutter to branch out musically from U-High's drum line (they're all on it). The band is sustained on a diet rich in the Who, the Beatles, the Doors and AC/DC. Foreign DNA is a Post Falls-based quartet whose members — Mark Watson (vocals and guitar), Matt Routh (vocals and guitar), Seth Hyde (vocals and bass) and Paul Hyde (drums) — have been playing together since September 2002. Paul Hyde is a freshman at the University of Idaho, while the other guys are juniors at Post Falls High. The band has recorded a pair of CDs: 2002's Overlooked six-song EP and 2003's A Place in the Crowd, a full-length album (both were recorded at College Road in Spokane). Foreign DNA has been out there on the live stage too, consistently playing in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Moscow. Yeah, it's a cheeky name, but Big Wang Theory delivers the goods, kicking out the jams classic rock-style a la Zeppelin, Van Halen, Rush and AC/DC. And few bands on the local scene seem to be having as much fun with all that high-voltage stuff as these guys: Adam Brock (lead vocals and guitar), Max Shellabarger (vocals and guitar), Alan Crow (bass) and Vinnie Nickoloff (drums and the "occasional" vocal). They've been together a little over a year and will play "anywhere you'll let us," says Shellabarger. "Seriously." Catalyst is made up of Henry Nordstrom (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Andy Martin (lead guitar), Dan Castillo (bass) and Austin Drake (drums). Nordstrom, Martin and Drake have been playing together for about four years (as worship team members at their church) but the band came to full fruition two years later with the addition of Castillo. Catalyst is refreshingly up front about its faith-based inspiration and direction. "We are a Christian band," says Nordstrom. "All the songs we write are Christian songs." Final Four wildcard band Mylestone will open the show. The group members — Pat O'Neill (vocals), Curran Long (lead guitar), Riley Long (drums), Cole Tanner (bass) and Aaron McConkey — all attend Lewis & Clark High School and have come a long way in the last couple of years, gigging at clubs all over town, including fancy joints like the Big Easy. As in the preliminary rounds, audience members will vote, People's Choice-style, to determine the winner of the competition's grand prize: an all-expenses-paid weekend of recording in Seattle at Delve Music Studios. The second-place band will receive a cash award of $150 while $100 will go to the third-place finishers. I advise you to get there early (it all starts at 6 pm) because it's gonna be a blowout. Posted by: rawkmandale - February 24th, 2005 Back to News Articles View Articles From RAWK Final Four Category