Sound Off! The under 21 Battle of the Bands

For the seventh year running, EMP hosts the all under 21 NW Battle of the Bands Competition, Sound Off! The event is meant to give young performers a once in a lifetime chance to showcase to Seattle what they have. In the past, bands such as Schoolyard Heroes, Idiot Pilot, Mon Frere, The Lonely H, Dyme Def, Capitol Basement, The Lonely Forest and Natalie Portman’s Shaved Head have all battled it out in the finals and into our playlists.

But before we get to the final, we get to work through The Semifinals (which should be noted, happen in THREE parts) begining this Sat the 9th and continuing on the 16th and the 23rd. The semi’s feature 4 bands apiece and the winner of each will proceed to the Final on sat Mar 1st. Each round costs all of 7 bucks for students and EMP members, 10 for the rest of us to get in. All shows happen in the Sky Church which is almost worth sitting and staring at even without a band playing.

Here’s the lineup for each of the “semi”finals with finals TBA.
I’ve heard most of the first night’s bands on KEXP’s Audioasis with Lisa Wood last Friday. I personally think New Faces have a solid shot. The lead singer-all of 16- has already come into a full rich baritone voice without any of the Peter Brady crackles. I have yet to listen to the bands for the remaining nights but I have links to all their MySpace pages if you want to hear them out.

With the track record that this event has, I’d recommend checking out as many of the rounds as you can.

Semifinals round 1 - Sat Feb 9th f- 8:00 features
The Batteries, Carnation, WA listen
The Dead Are Judged, Marysville, WA listen
New Faces, Port Townsend, WA listen
and
Southgate, Pendleton, OR listen

Semifinal round 2 Sat, Feb 16th - 8:00 features
KnowMads, Seattle, WA Listen
The Nextdoor Neighbors, Olympia, WA Listen
Pat Goodwin, Seattle, WA Listen
Scribes, Seattle, WA Listen

Semifinal Round “3″ Sat, February 23 features
Deer City, Issaquah, WA Listen
Kusikia, Tacoma, WA Listen
Man Down Medic, Seattle, WA Listen
Shotty, Kirkland, WA Listen

FINAL happen Sat March 1 - 8:00

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