“TOP FIVE MAINE HS BANDS MOVE TO ROCK-OFF FINALS”

April 10, 2006

“TOP FIVE MAINE HS BANDS MOVE
TO ROCK-OFF FINALS”

***** for immediate release *****

Five Maine high school rock bands are one show closer to winning $1,000 and the title of “Best Young Band in the State of Maine,” as Reindeer Records’ 22nd Annual Rock-Off heads into the Finals.

The top five bands were announced in alpha order and include: THE GLORIA RED from Thornton Academy, NORWOOD and PASSING LANE, both from Deering HS, ROCKSMYTHE, York HS, and THE SHAMS, who are homeschooled.

An enthusiastic crowd of 300+ was on hand Sunday at the third of three Live Performance Showcases held at McAuley Performing Arts Center in Portland. Each band’s live scores were combined with their other scores for Original Material and Marketability, evaluated by separate panels of judges. The five finalists had the best overall totals.

“This year was truly one of the tightest competitions ever,” reported Rock-Off Producer and Reindeer President Louis Philippe. “All the judges pretty much kept within a very close margin and when you start scaling the results for various categories down to percentages, the result is a knuckle-biting race.”

Philippe noted that at least 5-7 other bands were very close to making it into the top five. “On one hand, it’s always disappointing to see so many excellent young bands depart from the Rock-Off journey and I can only hope they continue to build on the exposure and networking opportunities that the Rock-Off provided. On the other hand, it’s exciting to look forward to what will undoubtedly be one of the best Rock-Off Finals ever.”

The Finals are slated for Sunday, May 7, 2 PM, again at McAuley PAC, 631 Stevens Ave., Portland. Tickets are $10, available from any participating band or by contacting Reindeer at 857-9002 or online at http://www.reindeergroup.org. Information about this year’s participating bands can be found at www.20below.mainetoday.com.

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