Thursday July 31, 2008
Rocking the world
By N. RAMA LOHAN
Global Battle of the Bands is not the first of it’s kind, but it may yet prove to be the competition with the widest reach.
Mainstream – that’s almost a dirty word in the collective minds of music artistes who continue to struggle to get themselves heard in this era of digital downloads and ring tones.
If you make music that fits the status quo, then the stars and planets look appropriately aligned but if you’re hoping to be a little left of the middle, or worse yet, completely left field, times are trying, no doubt about it.
But for those who are ready to rock – or choose to commute on the highways to hell or stairways to heaven – the cause is not lost, not with the pre-sence of band-centric showcase TV programmes, reality shows and even the odd band competition or two.
Breaking out: Y2K, the winners of last year’s Global Battle of the Bands in Malaysia, made a huge impression in the global finals in London by coming out 14th worldwide. And with band competitions, few rank higher in recognition as the Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB), an endeavour championed by GBOB Malaysia and whole-heartedly backed (sponsored, to be precise) by Tennessee’s finest mouthwash, Jack Daniels, in the guise of its Jack Daniels Global Tour initiative.
Now in its second year, the Global Battle of the Bands Challenge Malaysia 2008 seeks to entice a more exciting batch of bands and a cash prize of RM50,000 for the regional winner (who also gets an all-expense paid trip to Camden, London, for the grand finals) and US$100,000 (RM320,000) for the world final winner might have bands coming in the droves. In fact, 36 countries have already registered their interest.
Is Malaysia ready for this, though? GBOB Malaysia director Issa Rodriguez Medina certainly thinks so and feels that band-centric music will ultimately prevail, citing last year’s Malaysian winners Y2K as proof of the pudding.
“We have brought this to the Malaysian landscape because we have lots of talent here, albeit untapped, and we want to show the world that Malaysians are among the world’s best. Y2K made it to the world’s top 14, beating bands from heavyweight countries like England, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Norway, Romania, Scotland, South Africa and Sweden ? a true testament to the ‘Malaysia Boleh!’ spirit,” she says following a launch event at Titanium SuperDance Club in Petaling Jaya recently.
More often these days, it’s com-monly bemoaned that reality music competitions have taken away the essence of viewing music as an artistic product. But Rodriguez astutely points out that good or bad publicity is publicity nonetheless. “Reality TV based competitions are good for the music industry and give the public a hand in the making of a celebrity. But unlike the plethora of TV-driven talent shows worldwide, the GBOB Challenge fosters music, not showbiz.
“All competing bands must be able to perform their own songs live. There are no cover versions, no backing tapes, no TV makeovers. The GBOB Challenge is giving music back to its creators. It is a celebration of raw talent over manufactured celebrity,” she says, providing a guideline along the way as to what is required of the bands.
She does concede though that the upsurge of commercialisation and product placement using musicians and popular artistes, casts a giant shadow over the local independent music scene and does not reflect the actual voice of local musicians.
“Triumph in GBOB doesn’t necessarily guarantee an instant springboard to fame. Instead, it gives the bands the opportunity to get noticed by the A&R departments of big record companies,” she cautions, should bands expect to find themselves in the rocketship to success upon winning the global challenge.
Success stories abound though, such as Spanish indie band Second (winner of the competition in 2004), which won a coveted slot as opening act for Colombian hip-shaker Shakira’s world tour.
Then there’s grunge band Kopek from Ireland, the following year’s winner, which has worked with Danny Saber (who has worked with U2, Marilyn Manson, David Bowie etc). The band’s recent debut single reached the Top 20 in its homeland.
The real head-turner though, was Boys In A Band, a group from the smallest participating nation thus far – the Faroe Islands, which won the competition last year.
Judges for the competition include respected musicians, record producers, record company A&R people, entertainment print and broadcast journalists, DJs, artist managers and the like.
In the past, the competition has seen the likes of Bob Geldof, Steve Lillywhite (who produced U2), Andrew Loog Oldham (The Rolling Stones manager during their Abcko heyday in the 1960s) and more.
Matt Walker, GBOB international director, takes pride in the success of the final winners who have gone on to raise their profiles. He also sees a bright future for GBOB. “Even bands that did not win have benefited from taking part in the GBOB Challenge. Our long term aim is to be a one-stop promotion vehicle and music community for emerging talent.”
The competition is open to all mu-sic genres and there are no language constraints. And if judging seems to potentially spell problems, Walker is convinced that won’t be the case.
“Star quality comes in a great many varieties and comprises to a greater or lesser extent: vocal delivery, quality of songs, image, stage presence, originality and many other factors,” he says.
“Music is universal and it speaks from the heart and soul, so much so that one doesn’t need any specific language to understand the message.”
Opportunity doesn’t knock twice, so goes the old adage. So if bands are seriously looking to take their music to the next level, GBOB might just be the ideal stop. And with additional sponsors, including the likes of Traxx FM, Radioactive, The Guitar Store, Titanium Super Dance Club, Eskimo Joy, Bayview Hotel, FACES and i-bands.net, the add-ons can only be more enticing.
Bands hoping to score the prizes simply need to pre-register by visiting myspace.com/gbobmalaysia or register on gbob.comor call 03-21445733. The first round of the contest takes place at Titanium Super Dance Club, in Petaling Jaya on Aug 15.
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