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.
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| 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.
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