The Battle Is Won
This year's Battle of the Bands saw forty bands come through online regional heats with the final eight being selected by the equipment sponsors for the event.
These consisted of: DBZ (Dean Guitars), GotoGuitars, Westside Distribution, US music company Jim Dunlop and new London based string manufacturer Dovetail Strings.
The final eight bands were required to play 3 original songs with a running time of no more than 15 minutes, the running order was as follows:
THE MOONBIRDS - 7.30- 7.45
BITTERSWEET BY DESIGN - 7.550 - 8.10
RYAN MARCH - 8.20 - 8.35
CHARNEL HOUSE -8.45 - 9
MAN OF THE HOUR - 9.10- 9.25
TONE DAMAGE- 9.35-9.50
RICH KINSEY - 10- 10.15
PAINT HAPPY - 10.25-10.40
The winners were picked by a judging panel and also by crowd voting. The crowd vote constituted 30% of the voting with the judges score card providing the crux of the points. The judges voted on Image, Originality, Song Craft, Stage Presence and Marketability. These categories were all voted out of one to ten with a maximum of 50 points available. The whole idea behind the crowd vote was to get the artists to bring their fan base with them in order to ensure a quality crowd response for the artists during the event. The winners were:
1st -- Tone Damage
2nd -- The Moon Birds
3rd -- Rich Kinsey
Tone Damage: First place prizes were an opening slot on the mainstage of the Friday of the Merthyr Rock festival, a DBZ guitar worth £800, Jim Dunlop Accessories and a Dovetail string endorsement
The Moon Birds: Second place prizes were opening the second stage on the Saturday of the Merthyr Rock festival, a Jim Dulop Wah Wah & Accessories and a Dovetail string endorsement
Rich Kinsey: Third place prizes were an opening slot on the second stage on the Sunday of the Merthyr Rock festival, a Jim Dunlop Zakk wylde Overdrive & Accessories and a Dovetail string endorsement
HUGE thanks to all the bands who entered, and to everyone who voted online and turned up on the night! Now... on to Merthyr Rock!
Original article follows:
Young bands compete for opening slots at prestigious Welsh music festival
BOTB 2012
Three unsigned young Welsh bands will open for the likes of Razorlight, Skindred and Kids in Glass Houses this summer, when the CLIConline / Merthyr Rock Battle of the Bands winners are decided at the contest’s final at Ebbw Vale Institute (EVi) this Friday 17 August.
The winners and two runners-up will get to play the main and second stages at the Merthyr Rock festival, which takes place from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September at Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil.
BOTB 2011
Last year’s battle saw Blaenau Gwent based winners Eric Unseen – who also walked away with a brand new Schecter guitar – open up the main stage on Saturday for headliners Ocean Colour Scene, while two runners-up played the second stage. This year’s winners can also look forward to a Dean DBZ guitar worth £900.
24-year-old Scott Williams from Eric Unseen said: “The advice we’d give to this year’s entrants is to just enjoy the experience of playing with other great local talent. It’s also a really good platform to get your music out to new people, and there is no other prize like it in Wales.
“To play alongside some of our musical heroes was an opportunity that never really happens and we’re all really appreciative and lucky to have been involved in the competition. We owe a lot to CLIConline for including us in last year’s BOTB, and we have built up a fan base just from opening Merthyr Rock.”
The Finalists
The Moonbirds
If you like bluesy/rock riffs with an almighty funky edge and acoustic driven rock songs with catchy melodies you'll be sure to love Merthyr four-piece The Moon Birds.
http://www.facebook.com/themoonbirds/
Man Of The Hour
Man of the Hour is a pop-punk band with a bite, hailing from the Welsh Valleys. Man Of The Hour experiment with elements of pop-punk from the various reincarnations of the genre over the years.
http://www.myspace.com/manofthehourband
Paint Happy
The songs are guitar driven with strong melodies while remaining unique with a wide range of influences. Paint Happy are in the early stages and still open to a lot of experimentation with different genres and styles of music.
http://soundcloud.com/paint-happy
Rich Kinsey
Formed August 2011, Rich Kinsey and the Barroom Heroes are a new breed of acoustic/electro band. The band have since moved forward performing all over the country supporting artists as varied as the Blackout and Broken Vinyl Club. With an EP launch in March of 2012 the band started to reach new fans and new radio exposure, with airplay and live sessions being regularly aired.
Website
Charnel House
Melodic / Hardcore/Progressive five-piece from Cardiff.
http://www.facebook.com/CharnelHouseOfficial
Ryan March
Bridgend based singer and songwiter.
http://soundcloud.com/ryanmarch
Tone Damage
Five piece originals and cover band Tone Damage draw influence from numerous genres, bands and artists, with each member having different yet similar influences.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tone-Damage/148309848546348
BittersweetByDesign
Five Piece rock band from Cardiff and Merthy have just started recording their first songs. Their first single is called "Anthem for the Underdog".
http://www.facebook.com/BittersweetByDesign/
BOTB Final & Merthyr Rock
While online voting has now finished, the battle is not yet over. Head down to Ebbw Vale Institute THIS FRIDAY (17 August) to watch 8 of the best unsigned Welsh artists battle it out for the coveted BOTB crown.
DOORS: 18:30
FIRST ACT: 19:15
ENTRY: £3
Then follow the champions on to Merthyr Rock festival, which takes place from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September at Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil.
Please note this is an all ages event. Persons aged 18+ wishing to purchase alcohol will need to provide photographic ID to obtain a wristband. No ID = no wristband = no alcohol.
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7 Comments – Post a comment
Miss_Survivoroxoxo
Commented 9 months ago - 17th August 2012 - 12:01pm
I shall be there if my uncle's car isn't on the blink! He is passing there anyway to go somewhere so I will tag along. See you tonight!
CLICdan
Commented 9 months ago - 17th August 2012 - 13:46pm
Awesome! Hopefully see you there. :)
Farce
Commented 9 months ago - 17th August 2012 - 23:52pm
Well....what a terrible way to end a great competition. The judges opinion only counted for part of the result but the "audience" voting was a farce, rather than judging real talent it was clearly a "who had the most paying friends at the venue on the night" competiton. Well done to the winners, they did deserve it but once again Merthyr Rock misses out on those that really deserve to be there!
CLIC BOTB
Commented 9 months ago - 20th August 2012 - 14:00pm
@Farce Thanks for the feedback, and sorry to hear you feel that way.
The crowd vote only constituted 30% of the voting, with the judges' score cards providing the crux of the points. The judges voted on image, originality, song craft, stage presence and marketability. These were all voted out of one to ten, with a maximum of 50 points available.
The whole point of the crowd vote was to get the artists to bring their fan base with them in order to ensure a good crowd response for the event. We explained to all the artists in advance what the criteria for the judging of the BOTB entailed. We hope this is of use.
Ihavethecyrusvirusx
Commented 9 months ago - 20th August 2012 - 17:41pm
Soooo gutted I couldn't be there! But I was at the hospital til practically midnight. Who won? Would love to hear the winners! x
CLICdan
Commented 9 months ago - 21st August 2012 - 09:53am
@Ihavethecyrusvirusx
I've added the results at the top of the article. There are also photos and videos of all the acts on the night on their way!
Miss_Survivoroxoxo
Commented 9 months ago - 22nd August 2012 - 21:01pm
LOVED the BOTB! I wasn't there for all of it and sorry I didn't introduce myself- I was too shy! But it was brilliant and I hope to attend Merthyr Rocks!