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Showing posts with label MAMM Slam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MAMM Slam. Show all posts

Friday, May 12, 2017

Local musicians compete for prizes in the 2017 MAMM Slam this Saturday By Lorraine Glowczak


Local Windham High School students and musicians, David Young, Deven Young and Seth Martin, members of the rock group The Rubber Band will compete in a Battle of the Bands competition, known as the Maine Academy of Modern Music (MAMM) Slam, Saturday, May 13 at Empire located at 575 Congress Street in Portland. The doors will open at 1:30 p.m. and The Rubber Band will perform at 2 p.m.
 
Members of The Rubber Band rock group

 The Rubber Band has performed together for two years and consists of a guitarist (David Young, senior) a drummer (Deven Young, sophomore) and a bass guitarist (Seth Martin, senior.)

The band, whose musical sound is similar to Creedence Clear Water, Neil Young, Cream, Led Zeppelin and Bob Dylan competed and won the preliminary rounds in the High School Rock Off portion of MAMM Slam on April 8 at Bayside Bowl in Portland. 

The Rubber Band will compete again on Saturday with five other bands and solo artists to vie for first place and win a host of prizes that will include: $1,000 cash sponsored by the Rusty Rocket Music Fund, college scholarships to the Maine College of Art (MECA) of up to $16,000 per year to each member of the winning band, a tour of Gateway Mastering in Portland, free recording studio time, a scheduled performance to include an appearance on the MAMM Stage at the 2017 Old Port Festival and the All Roads Music Festival in Belfast. The prize also includes radio appearances.

Per MaineToday.com, a leading sponsor of the competition, “The MAMM Slam is a statewide competition designed to provide young, career-minded musicians with an educational platform through which to gain performance and business experience, professional acumen, industry exposure and promotional and career networking opportunities. The competition is open to bands and solo artists.”

The group performed and competed last spring in the 2016 MAMM Slam. “Last year we made it to the final round, but didn't take the grand prize.” David Young said. “I did win a Best Guitarist Award, though.”

The Rubber Band’s talent comes with years of experience that will increase their odds of winning the grand prize. “I've been playing for about 8 years,” David Young said. “Seth plays all sorts of things including guitar, bass and drums and he's been playing for at least as long as I have.  Deven's been on the drums for almost three years now, and he's really coming along quick.”  

The rock group has been working with an agent and partner named Dave Biron, and his company Brownstaff Talent Productions. Biron has arranged performances for the band in the Southern Maine area since the 2016 competition. “He actually contacted us after the MAMM Slam last year and has got us into places such as the Great Falls Balloon Festival in Lewiston,” David Young explained. “And we've gotten recent airplay for some of the songs off our new EP "Thunder" [a 4-song recording] on Maine's Big Z 105.5/92.7, thanks to him.”

As Young stated above, the band has recorded their music and now has the 4-song EP entitled “Thunder.” It consists of three originals and a cover of Bob Dylan’s, “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” The EP will be available to purchase at the MAMM Slam on Saturday.

Admission to Saturday’s performance is $12.If you are unable to attend, an individual can purchase “Thunder” by contacting the band members on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/therubberbandwindham/

Good luck to The Rubber Band as they compete this Saturday, although it’s possible they won’t need it.