Last Sunday, Dec 1st, musicians and fans packed The Hood Bar and Pizza to experience the first, nail-biting round of competition leading up to the finals on May 4, 2019, where the winners will receive $2,000 cash, 4 hours studio time by Melrose Music, a photo shoot, and other prizes that will be announced soon.
No one in attendance, including myself, envied the tasks handed to the judges considering the quality of all 4 bands competing who were absolutely top-notch in both musicianship and performances. In the end, it was literally 1 to 2 points that separated the winners from the runners up.
The round 1 judges included singer/songwriter, Chelsea Sugarbritches, frontwoman for the bands 5th Town and Long Duk Dong. Ms. Sugarbritches has received multiple CV Music awards and nominations over the years including Best Frontwoman. Her bands, have also received many awards over the years.
The second judge was the lovely, Rebecca Luna. A long-time supporter of the local music scene, Ms. Luna was part of the original staff that launched KCOD radio in 2011. Crossing over from college to commercial radio in 2015, she works for Alpha Media in production and recording voice-overs for commercials that can be heard on multiple, local stations.
Rounding out the panel of experts for the evening was David Williams, owner of Melrose Music Studios in both Hollywood and Palm Springs. A long-time producer, audio engineer and musician, over the years Williams has built up an impressive list of clients including, The Pointer Sisters, Taylor Dayne, Jodeci, Clay Aiken and many more including many up and coming artists from all spectrums of music.
Taking first place in the 1st, preliminary round and winners of $200.00 cash was Empty Seat!
This is not Do's first rodeo, nor will it be his last. The last time he competed in this competition he ended within one point of taking first in his round and that was without a band. This time he showed up packing heat and ready to rumble with his secret weapons in the form of his drummer Erik Mouness and the multi-instrumentalist wonder herself, Bri Cherry, who played double duty on both bass and violin. Accompanying himself on keys, Do, literally captivated the audience with his vocals that are as swoony as they are powerful. With dreamy lyrics and looks to match, Krystofer Do has that, "It" factor that makes him seem destined for pop-stardom and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see him packing in crowds of screaming girls sometime in the not-too-distant future.
Maybe better known by their full name, The Classy Motherf***ers, this 3-piece is on the short list of favorite local bands of pretty much every performer in the valley who has had the pleasure to experience them live. These guys are super young but have always impressed me with their well-seasoned sound that comes across as though they have been doing this for decades. This night of competition was no different than any other CMF show. They brought the funk and brought it hard. Although they are a very instrumentally driven group that thrives on strong, bluesy bass lines and epic guitar solos…the fact that their frontman, Joseph Vaughan is carrying around one of the best set of pipes of any male vocalists in the desert is another part of what makes these guys truly fantastic. They bring a youthful vibe to a classic sound and with talent like theirs they will likely be around for a long time.