By Joann Groff
Assistant Sports Editor
Last Sunday, the Orange County Music Awards held a preliminary show, highlighting the top 10 new bands in the area. The Galaxy Theatre in Costa Mesa housed some of the music industry’s newest talent in a “Battle of the Bands” style concert, searching for the No. 1 new band in Orange County.
With a minimum high-school age requirement, the crowd was diverse and the organization less than perfect. There was some bad sound and off-tune guitars, some faulty equipment and awkward delays, but there was definitely something unique about the younger performers — their smiles.
“I love watching new bands,” Dallas Godshall said. Godshall is from Southern California, and is now a sophomore at Cuesta Community College in San Luis Obispo. “Sometimes you hear a group that has the skills of any popular performer today, but the difference is the attitude. They still look like they are having fun, like they love the music.”
With guys like Eminem and 50-cent and gals like J. Lo and Christina Aguilera on the stage these days, it’s refreshing to see some genuine smiles and laughs and looks of sheer excitement. Onlookers said the pure joy of the music was apparent — the groups reminded the audience why they were up on the dimly lit stage overlooking their girlfriends in matching T-shirts and their groupies from fifth period history class. From folk to ska to angry rock, these groups had more passion than most of the leading musicians of today. It wasn’t about money or fame — it was about getting off the ground and hoping to spread talent outside of the suburban bubble.
The place was packed as OC Music Awards host and former radio deejay Rand DeWitt announced the theme: “Celebrating the musical diversity of Orange County.”
Perhaps the most prominent music genre coming from the land of elementary schools, movie theaters and families of five is ska. A favorite of the night, Nothing Special, drew in the packed crowd with their first set of self-described “ska-alternative-rock.”
“It’s a rush,” lead singer Amanda Dolon said. “The stage, the people, the whole thing. The size of the venue and how it looks — it just gives us so much energy, and makes us want to do better and better.”
Nothing Special has been together for a little over a year and band members said they feel honored to be able to play at this event. Guitarist Nick Abalos said he recognizes the opportunities that could stem from a performance at this concert.
“The publicity has been off the wall already,” Abalos said. “We’ve already been asked to play another show, another battle of the bands, by one of the judges. That would have never happened if we hadn’t had the chance to come here.”
Besides Nothing Special, other finalists included Deirdera Hughes, Raegan, The Moment and Vanity Kissed Vanity.
“It just so happened the bands chosen as nominees had the best attitudes,” Orange County Music Awards founder Martin Brown said. “No egos, no tantrums, just very respectful and so enthusiastic about the whole experience. They are used to playing backyard parties or at school — to play on a stage, it was worth it for them … and they were all good. I was really impressed by the talent of it.”
After picking the finalists, the majority of the five nominated bands voted to wait and announce the winner at the Orange County Music Awards at the Grove in Anaheim March 29. They will all come ready to play, and won’t know they are going on until the second the envelope seal is broken.
“This is really going to help us,” said Johnny Starr, lead singer of rock band The Moment. “Any show does, any time, anywhere — we even play weddings.”
Those days just may be over for the band that takes the cake. With more than 140 bands involved with many different categories, the 15 judges (including reporters for the Orange County Register and OC Weekly, and representatives from the Galaxy, the House of Blues, Warner Bros. Music, Universal and Atlantic Records) have reviewed more than 500 songs over the last three months. They will choose winners from all ends of the spectrum, hard core, punk, country and acoustic, Brown said.
Perhaps the most thankful winner, however, will be that of the best emerging band in Orange County. They’ll smile, laugh and maybe even shed a tear.
“This means everything to them,” said one of the band-boy’s mothers. “It’s a dream come true for every one of them who steps on that stage.”
March 20, 2003