Crocs gives three local bands the chance to open for OneRepublic
Melissa Mollohan
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: Features
The opening band for Crocs Next Step Tour with Fabolous and OneRepublic won't be from Los Angeles or New York City; it will come from right here in central Kentucky.
Crocs, SPIN magazine and 360 Productions is sponsoring a battle of the bands. Three local bands: Inklosure, Solace and Hundred Dollar Handshake, will be competing for a chance to open up for Fabolous and OneRepublic in the Ravine on Saturday, April 12 at 6 p.m. The winning band will also be mentioned in SPIN magazine.
Their form of competition? Online voting. Those interested in voting can go online to http://crocsbattleofthebands.com/_eastern_kentucky_univ.php and listen to the bands. Voters can only vote once a day.
HUNDRED DOLLAR HANDSHAKE
Hundred Dollar Handshake, a five-member band from Lexington, got its name after a member received a $100 tip through a handshake from a man at the country club.
"That's how he tipped," said Curtis Lowe, the saxophonist in HDH. "It kind of stuck."
Lowe and his bandmates met in economics class four years ago and have been making music ever since.
"I think we show a level of musicianship and companionship that's superior to other bands," Lowe said. "We can improvise well, make music on the spot and make it sound like we've been practicing for days."
Jon Grossman, the keyboardist, and Ryan Usher, the guitarist, write the lyrics, but Lowe said the "music pretty much falls in place."
Other members are drummer Elliot Neuman and bass guitarist Philip Brooks.
To check out more music by HDH, go online to www.myspace.com/hundreddollarhandshake.
SOLACE
Solace, a four-member band from right here in Richmond, features Eastern students and graduates.
Kyle Moon, a former Student Government Association president, is the bass guitarist and backup vocalist for Solace.
Other members include singer Joe Ryan, guitarist and vocalist Brandon Coots, and drummer Benji Williamson.
According to the band's MySpace page, the band has been together for nearly two years.
To listen to more tracks by Solace, go online to www.myspace.com/solaceeku.
INKLOSURE
Inklosure, a Richmond based hard rock band with four members, have been together for only about a month and a half, but drummer Richard Saowden said everything "went together really well," or became "enclosed."
And that is how the band got its name.
Saowden said that he wants Inklosure to win because it would display more diversity of the show. He pointed out that Fabolous was a rapper and OneRepublic is more hip hop/pop. Saowden said he thinks having a hard rock band will give the audience more variety.
All the band members do a "fair share" in the writing of the lyrics and music.
"We're all around a very talented band," Saowden said. "There's a lot of potential."
For more information on Inklosure, go online to www.myspace.com/inklosure.
Crocs, SPIN magazine and 360 Productions is sponsoring a battle of the bands. Three local bands: Inklosure, Solace and Hundred Dollar Handshake, will be competing for a chance to open up for Fabolous and OneRepublic in the Ravine on Saturday, April 12 at 6 p.m. The winning band will also be mentioned in SPIN magazine.
Their form of competition? Online voting. Those interested in voting can go online to http://crocsbattleofthebands.com/_eastern_kentucky_univ.php and listen to the bands. Voters can only vote once a day.
HUNDRED DOLLAR HANDSHAKE
Hundred Dollar Handshake, a five-member band from Lexington, got its name after a member received a $100 tip through a handshake from a man at the country club.
"That's how he tipped," said Curtis Lowe, the saxophonist in HDH. "It kind of stuck."
Lowe and his bandmates met in economics class four years ago and have been making music ever since.
"I think we show a level of musicianship and companionship that's superior to other bands," Lowe said. "We can improvise well, make music on the spot and make it sound like we've been practicing for days."
Jon Grossman, the keyboardist, and Ryan Usher, the guitarist, write the lyrics, but Lowe said the "music pretty much falls in place."
Other members are drummer Elliot Neuman and bass guitarist Philip Brooks.
To check out more music by HDH, go online to www.myspace.com/hundreddollarhandshake.
SOLACE
Solace, a four-member band from right here in Richmond, features Eastern students and graduates.
Kyle Moon, a former Student Government Association president, is the bass guitarist and backup vocalist for Solace.
Other members include singer Joe Ryan, guitarist and vocalist Brandon Coots, and drummer Benji Williamson.
According to the band's MySpace page, the band has been together for nearly two years.
To listen to more tracks by Solace, go online to www.myspace.com/solaceeku.
INKLOSURE
Inklosure, a Richmond based hard rock band with four members, have been together for only about a month and a half, but drummer Richard Saowden said everything "went together really well," or became "enclosed."
And that is how the band got its name.
Saowden said that he wants Inklosure to win because it would display more diversity of the show. He pointed out that Fabolous was a rapper and OneRepublic is more hip hop/pop. Saowden said he thinks having a hard rock band will give the audience more variety.
All the band members do a "fair share" in the writing of the lyrics and music.
"We're all around a very talented band," Saowden said. "There's a lot of potential."
For more information on Inklosure, go online to www.myspace.com/inklosure.
