High school bands play to win at RAWK Category: RAWK Final Four This article has been read: 1472 times. by Tom Bowers / Staff writer Many Spokane teenagers spend Saturday nights going to the movies, cruising Division Street or hanging at home staying out of – or getting into – trouble. But starting at 6 p.m. this Saturday, some of them will be temporary rock stars on Fat Tuesday's stage, 109 W. Pacific Ave. That's what RAWK Final Four's all about. The band competition was founded four years ago by RAWK the Inland Northwest, a nonprofit group with one ambition: supporting and exposing teenage talent in the area. "The main goal is to have the community realize that there is some awfully good music being created by high school bands," said Dale Strom, RAWK board member and event coordinator. "This is really where it all starts. It starts when the bands are young. "Performing on a big stage like Fat Tuesday's gives them the experience and the confidence to get going." Whoever emerges as the winner among the five performers – four prelim winners plus one wild card – gets a weekend recording package with Seattle producer Isaiah Vering. Last year's winner, For Years Blue, chose to record a five-song EP. But it's not all about winning. Most of the performers are like BEAF bassist Steven Cutter – they're just stoked to be there. "We didn't expect to even be in this position or anything," Cutter said. "Of course it would be great if we won, but basically it's just cool to get the exposure." Pre-show entertainment by Seattle's DJ Special-T, who also will perform between sets, begins at 5:30 p.m. The Aaron Richner Band will perform its bluesy rock as a non-competitor at 9:45 p.m. Tickets for the shebang are $7 through band members, $10 at the door. Here's your clip-and-carry schedule for the throwdown: 6 p.m. – Mylestone Wild card Genre: Heavy alt-rock (think Foo Fighters, The Cult) Members: vocalist Pat O'Neill (Ferris High School 10th-grader); lead guitarist Curran Long (Lewis and Clark High School 10th-grader); drummer Riley Long (LC 10th-grader); bassist Cole Tanner (LC 10th-grader); rhythm guitarist Aaron McConkey (LC 10th-grader) 6:45 p.m. – Catalyst Round 1 winner Genre: Melancholy rock (Coldplay, Delerious?) Members: vocalist and rhythm guitarist Henry Nordstrom (Shadle Park High School 10th-grader); bassist Dan Castillo (Shadle graduate); drummer Austin Drake (Northwest Christian High School 10th-grader); lead guitarist Andy Martin (North Central High School 10th-grader) 7:30 p.m. – BEAF Round 2 winner Genre: Rowdy rock (AC/DC, The Beatles) Members: bassist Steven Cutter (University High School 10th-grader); lead guitarist Kris Mayhew (U-Hi 10th-grader); drummer Chris Bonney (U-Hi 11th-grader); guitarist Kevin Darrow (U-Hi 10th-grader); guitarist Calvin Grenkavich (U-Hi 10th-grader) 8:15 p.m. – Foreign DNA Round 3 winner Genre: Pop punk (Blink-182, NOFX) Members: guitarist and vocalist Matt Routh (Post Falls High School 11th-grader); bassist and vocalist Seth Hyde (Post Falls 11th-grader); guitarist and vocalist Mark Watson (Post Falls 11th-grader); drummer Paul Hyde (University of Idaho). 9 p.m. – Big Wang Theory Round 4 winner Genre: Classic rock (Led Zeppelin) Members: guitarist and vocalist Adam Brock (Cheney High School 10th-grader); bassist Alan Crow (Cheney 10th-grader); guitarist Max Shellabargar (Cheney 10th-grader); drummer Vinnie Nickoloff (Cheney ninth-grader). Posted by: rawkmandale - February 25th, 2005 Back to News Articles View Articles From RAWK Final Four Category