FOR PROMISING new bands, the road to fame and fortune has gotten a bit tougher.
“Nescafe 3-in-1 Soundskool,” the country’s premier college band competition, has upped the ante. For this year’s edition, Soundskool is taking to extremes not only the challenges, but also the rewards for the emerging national champion.
Bigger cash prize
The winning band will now get P500,000 cash – double the previous years’ grand prize. This comes on top of a record deal with Sony Music Philippines and a musical instruments showcase worth P100,000 for the winner’s school.
The climb to the top, however, is strewn with checkpoints. The applicant must now submit a demo song. But a Soundskool mobile recording studio will visit various colleges and universities to assist young hopefuls.
Regional representation has likewise been revised and the top 30 bands among all competing entries nationwide will advance to the semifinal round.
The semifinalists will go through a week-long mentoring workshop in Boracay to be handled by respected music industry professionals.
Mentor bands will fly to Boracay for closer counseling of the semifinalists. Past mentor bands have included Sugarfree, 6 Cycle Mind, Callalily and Sandwich.
Text votes
A new wrinkle in the competition seeks to empower supporters of the finalists to improve their winning chances. Their fans will be able to connect actively with the competing bands through online activities (via www.nescafe3in1.com.ph/soundskool) and then show their support through text votes for their favorite bands. In effect, text votes will be a major factor in the selection of the 2010 Soundskool champion.
Final-round aspirants
Only five of the 30 aspirants in Boracay will move on to the final round. The five finalists will be mentored one-on-one, treated like a protégé by the best bands in the land on the way to the penultimate showdown.
At the Soundskool 2010 formal launch at Hard Rock Café Makati, Eevee, last year’s winner, and Letter Day Story, the 2008 grand champion, flashed their prized form and then some.
On the heels of its debut album “Sama-Sama” (a follow-up to an earlier EP), Letter Day Story retrofitted its pop-punk tunes with bright dabs of electro and a discofied backbeat. The tough thump from the drums and bass propelled the band’s otherwise lean songs into snappy dance floor numbers.
Eevee’s debut release, “Paramdam,” hit the stores sometime in April this year and has already spawned a radio hit in “Gusto Ko Lang Ng Girlfriend.” It’s an original composition that highlighted the band’s conquest of Soundskool in 2009.
“Paramdam” captures a band shuttling between the cerebral pop of the Eraserheads and the Pinoy rock of Bamboo. Live at the Hard Rock Café, Eevee turned expectations on their heads.
Among the album’s other songs: “Larawan” is a love song delivered in classic rock, “Eroplano” revisits some psychedelic pleasures while the title track sparkles with tones borrowed from chordbook of U2’s The Edge’s.
Letter Day Story and Eevee proved their worth to be among the country’s current best college bands. They’ve certainly come a long way from their garage days.
For those aspiring to take a crack at this year’s crown, it’s time to dive into rehearsals and polish those chops.
