The Next Great American Band: Get Excited - It's Worth It! Episode 1 Recap by Gayl Killough
October 22, 2007
The Next Great American Band premiered with a 2 hour show and started out great. I was fearing the so-called bad auditions, but mostly the music was good, and the rest was more wacky than bad. The judges chose 12 bands to be in the finals starting next week and the show seems fast paced compared to American Idol. Overall, I was highly pleased with the start of this show.
Host is Dominic Bowden who has Ryan Seacrest's job for New Zealand Idol. Sometimes I found his accent to be a little hard to understand, but he is very likable. Judges are Ian "Dicko" Dickson of Australian Idol as a judge, John Rzenik of the Goo Goo Dolls, and Sheila E., a well known drummer who has played with numerous people and has her own band currently called C.O.E.D. (Chronicles of Every Diva).
On the surface, Dicko is the equivalent to Simon on American Idol, Sheila is the equivalent to Paula, and Reznik is the equivalent to Randy. However, they do have their own individual goals and roles as judges. Dicko is the recording industry expert who is looking at the bands from the perspective of whether or not they are a recording act and how many records will they sell as a band. Sheila is looking at the band from the overall perspective, how well do the members work together and sound together, the overall look and feel of the band, and musicianship potential. Rzenik main priority is to look for great bands. Bottom line, is the band a great band or not because that is what really matters in the end.
60 bands made the cut out of 6000 audition tapes to get the chance to impress the judges on an open outdoor stage in the dessert at a resort area called Lake Las Vegas. Several times throughout the show it was mentioned that the temperature was very high, like 107 degrees hot. Wow! They are attempting to test the physical endurance of all the bands as well.
There was three days of auditions shown. While each band performed for its turn in front of the judges, the other bands and family members waited on the boat on Lake Las Vegas. There was a television screen with audio so that the bands could keep track of what was going with the other bands. I noticed in the boat and off-time footage that there were a lot of people that were not shown actually performing. A lot of the bands did not get airtime, but there is some additional footage of bands at the official msn website for the show.
Sizzling Happy Family from Cunningham, Tennessee are first up and state that this will be the last time that they will play together as a band if they do not make it past this round. They have families that they need to support. Sheila says yes, but the other judges say no. The judges feel that they are a very good band, but not a great band.
Tres Bien from Clearwater, Florida are stuck in the 60's and that is a good thing. They were influenced by the parents' album and they especially seem to be influenced by British invasion rock in their sound. They look like the Beatles. They get three yes's from the judges and are moved on the second round. Only 12 bands will make the final cut, but they are one round closer. Later on in the show, the judges worry that some of the bands will have trouble with the theme rounds in the finals, but do not mention any concern with this band. However, this is the band that worries me the most in being able to handle the theme rounds. I think a lot of it will depend on just how tight of a 60's time capsule that they try to hang onto in the theme rounds.
The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, I think that was their name, are in costumes and I did not understand them at all.
Light of Doom from San Diego, California is a band that has a 12 year old lead singer and the band members range from 12 to 14 years old. Their main musical influence is Iron Maiden and they are amazing for their young age. Dicko points out that they wrote on their application that their main influences were ninjas, boobs, and explosions. Dicko liked them a lot, but did not think they were ready and that their cuteness would soon wear off, so he says no. Sheila says yes and tells Rzeznik that he has to say yes. Finally he says alright and they have made it to the next round.
The Hatch from Brooklyn.....
About J.G. Bird
Gayl considers herself a jack of all trades and has too many interests. Gayl writes environmental legal documents for a living and hopes people find this commentary to be more interesting. Gayl likes to believe that being born on B.B. King's birthday means she was born to love the blues.
You can contact Gayl at gkilloug@yahoo.com.
Are You Buzz Worthy? We Want To Know What You Think
Have you got something interesting to say. We'd like to hear it. This is your chance to sound off about your favorite Reality TV show. Or the show you hate. Did somebody do something really stupid? Really smart? Is there a strategy being over looked? Is a performer for real? Or not getting the buzz they should? Here's your chance - take it.
All articles are the intellectual property of and copyrighted by the individual authors. By submitting an article to Reality TV Calendar you are granting Reality TV Calendar permission to display the article in perpetuity.
Web Counter
