Sound Off! winner was no contest

Great Waves wins Sound Off!

Great Waves blended bluegrass, rock, and indie music

Last night at Sound Off!, the EMP's underage battle of the bands, culminated with Great Waves as the victors. Not only will this band get a bunch of neat music gear and industry consultation, but they will be playing at this year's Bumbershoot and will even have a track available for download for Rock Band.

The other day, when I wrote about Great Waves, I said that their singer Ashely Bullock was the feature of the band. But watching them live, it's clear that that the musical precision and presence of band that intermixes multiple drumsets, accoustic/electric guitars, mandolins and violins is on equal footing with Bullock's strong vocal presence. (It doesn't hurt that I was watching from the Great Waves cheering section). Going from soulful ballads with mandolin backups to drum-heavy rock interludes that made the violin a key driving sound showed an interesting play on mixing indie, bluegrass/country and rock.

Though not as musically complex, Candysound (the third place finalist) is a band to watch. It's very possible they'll stay together for a long time, but independently Tom and Teo have a very strong and thoughtful approach to genuine rock as a guitarist and drummer, who, once inserted into another project, could instantly bring life to it.

As for SEACATS, the fourth place finalist, whose members were on average the youngest, they definitely came off as the most genuine, nerdy and hopelessly excited about kicking ass. They need more time as a band and as artists individually, but they brought a fun, sloppy sound that was thoroughly enjoyable if not the most technical.

SEACATS lending an open mic to the crowd

Finally, the solo artist of Hooves and Beak, Whitney Flinn, will make an aspiring teenage musician's heart break. She has definitely nailed the weary soul struggling with love and life persona, and the sound. She also did this with a banana in her pocket (Seriously, there was literally a banana in her back pocket). I still like her very much, but it would be great to see an artist with her talent branch away from the common emotional stereotypes of her age. Then again, isn't that what most people do - live their age?

Hooves and Beak will be playing the upcoming Folklife Festival as part of her second place prize. I'm not really sure how they would've turned her song into a Rock Band track; however, it wouldn't seem right if the Sound Off! did that.

Overall, it was a fun evening with SEACATS explaining that the secret to covering up tuning your guitar on stage is to babble on about music and life, to Hooves having the crowd hug one another (which I did not partake in for objectivity as a journalist), and finally for Candysound, really closing out the show like a great rock band should. I came away from Sound Off! kicking myself for not practicing my guitar more in high school, but also wanting to pick it up again and start my own band. Anyone else?

Drummers are always the hardest band members to find.