ASPIRING musicians are being given the opportunity to ready the riffs, break out the beats and tighten up the tunes for Tavistock's first ever Battle of the Bands. Local bands and musicians now have the chance to be the town's next success story by giving a winning performance at the battle, which is being held at The Wharf next week. The first of the heats start on Friday, July 4 and will be followed by four more on July 11, 22, 24 and 30. Each heat will see four bands perform for 15 minutes in front of four judges. Judges and a proverbial 'clapometer' will rate the bands on their performances and the winning participants will be sent through to the quarter-finals on Tuesday, August 5 and Wednesday, August 6. The semi-final will be held on Friday, August 15 at 8pm followed by the final on Saturday, August 16 at 8pm. To avoid misleading clapometer readings on these two days, due to the expected excess of local bands, a clapometer will not be used, instead the the group of four judges will grow to six. The semi-final and final judges will be: Stephen Court, formerly of the BBC and Advision recording studios, and founder of Court Acoustics Ltd; Malcolm Toft, from Trident Studios and the former producer and engineer for David Bowie; Mark Shaw, record and band promoter; Chris Mellors, former tour manager for the Clash; Ellie Hopton, record events and tour organiser; and Lindsay Bright, reporter for the Times. Organisers of the event, and the owners of The Wharf, Angela and Stephen Court, said the battle was open to any age and musical style — it is for bands and musicians who aspire to be in the industry. Stephen said: 'I want everything from Pink Floyd to punk- pop and blues. We want all sorts of stuff and people of all ages to take part — so far we have had a good reaction.' Angela said: 'What we want are local, talented bands, who write their own stuff, or even for someone who only plays an acoustic guitar, to showcase their talent. 'This event gives people an opportunity to showcase what new bands can do. We would love to discover a band who are fantastic, as there are so many talented bands and musicians around in the area.' The prizes for the winning act will include: l £300 to £500 to spend at a top Plymouth music store, half a day in a top recording studio l a complete starter outfit, including t-shirts, record promos and more l a promo DVD and 24-track master of the final winning band l a gig as support band with a top international act (TBA) at The Wharf. Anyone who would like to take part in the event should contact Stephen or Angela on 01822 613928 or visit http://www.tavistockwharf.com">www.tavistockwharf.com for an application form and to see the rules of the battle. Eager musicians need to have entered their band by July 4.
