Plymouth Auditions Feedback from Live and Unsigned Music Competition

Auditions took place in Plymouth for the Live and Unsigned Music Competition on Sunday 20^thFebruary at the Plymouth Guildhall. This was Live and Unsigned first time in Plymouth so it was a great turn out considering first time in Devon and Cornwall.  Auditions had 300 musicians and singers attend throughout the day. Also had some great media and regional partners attending including representatives from Ivy Live Festival, The Plymothian magazine and the Plymouth Herald, so thanks to those great titles and partners for the support!

 Well done to all those who auditioned and especially the few who made it through to the Live Regional Final shows on Saturday 19th March 2011 Plymouth Guildhall, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2EW  www.plymouth.gov.uk/plymouthguildhall

Find below feedback for a selected few from the day who stood out for the right and sometimes wrong reasons.
  

Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judging panel. These views in no way reflect the views of Live and Unsigned, but are published with a view to being beneficial to the performing bands and singers who auditioned. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping. 

Peter Crawford – had a lively song, good image but some of the vocals a little flat.

Eva Barnsley – excellent voice, great stage presence, one of the Judges suggested try seating on

a high stool?
 

Broken –  great overall sound, lead vocals need strengthening and band needs to work on staging themselves
 

Emily Bunclark – confident performance, lovely tone, technique needs working on
 

Caroline Franklin –  lovely voice, nice performance, would like to see you use your own material.
 

Rosanna Ball – nice performance, very promising, try developing vocal range going forward.
 

Daniel Kermish Band – great voice but rhythm section needs to practice more to be on the money and be more in sync.

 

Crowley's Tears –  great sound, very engaging and one to watch.
 

Nancy Finch –lovely R&B voice, maybe get a guitarist in to play with you for the showcase.
 

Ellie Campbell – great song, interesting voice, good image, keep working on your own songs to complete the whole package.
 

Alex and the Underground –  nice sound, making secure sense of time and pulse, think about your group image and male vocals were weak in places.

Breathe –  good song, strong musicians and strong presence, would like to hear more of your work.
 

Backhand Saloon – great energy on stage, such a enjoyable performance which was well played as a band.
 

Cloutsham – good sound, ambitious timing not initially catchy poor start but grew as it the performance went on.
 

Gino Bragagnolo – nice Image but struggled to multi task perhaps keep in simple and focus on that. Spread yourself a bit too thin...
 

Etmatone – love the attention to the vocal in the line up, good musicians all together very good.

 

Richard James –great song which was musically savvy in the 1^stbar, don’t vocally shy away over the main hook, impressive non the less.

 

Megan Kerby – lovely voice, just need to start developing your own music.
 

Harry Hunt – accomplished performance but overcomplicated the riffs whilst singing which put too much pressure on the flow and timing and thus a little flat at times.
 

Big Screen Hero’s – great look, enjoy your performance, Great sound
 

Bo and the PayneKillers –  enjoyable on stage but not quite ready yet.
 

Dead Elms – nice group dynamics, good look, good musicians and energy but split the judges so

will need to up the game for the showcase to be universally popular.

Baby Zeus – good sound, work on your working band attitude
 

Gary and the minefield – good sound, great energy, great front man and look like a band going places with good stage work.

18 up in 1 – good sound, work on timing to be tighter, work on adding something else to this track to be more interesting and don’t forget to engage more with the audience.
 

Amy Louise – lovely voice, natural striking look and great solo performance.
 

Rock Cliffe-King – great guitar playing, develop this onto your vocals was difficult to understand the singing at times.
 

Hundred Days – great vocal, musically solid, work on image for the shows.

Fire for Effect – good overall sound which got better as it went on.
 

First Requiem – nice performance and “nice drumming” from Stuart Slater the Rock school examiner.
 

Last Man in Europe – original just experiment with the song structure more, great bass!
 

Land of the Giants – nice original sound, great energy, one of the tightest bands of the day.
 

Lonely Hunters –nice sound, great potential, for the showcase work on timing just to tighten up.
 

Nameless – good potential, more practice and more dimension to your sound required and stage craft.
 

Olivia and Annabel – good Voices, harmonies well worked but need more polish and think about your act image.
 

Kelly Palmer – lovely voice, need to learn to control nerves and maybe introduce some musicians.
 

Charley Pinford – great energy and voice with well placed emphasis. Try to perform with more confidence or act that you are more confident.
 

Operation ARD –good sound and front man, great Group Dynamics, a little less shouty would enhance a really solid track and timing a little variable in places.
 

Liveo – nice sound, good stage presence, just engage with the audience! More music and energy required for the live shows.

Chris Millington – lovely song and nice guitar work.

 

Ella Lauran – great overall package, don’t be afraid of your vocal hooks, clear and fully defined guitar, values and accurate pitch, one of the best today!
 

Messenger – solid band and great front man with character, but need to engage with the audience. Song would benefit but beefing up your guitar solo, some vocal backing vocals and a middle 8.
 

Audio Focus – good Sound but more focus on timing required.
 

Ollie Naylor – material has potential, good song and guitar work, might need a change of vocal style to enhance delivery.
 

Rich Maya – beautiful sound, great look and a gorgeous voice.
 

Nick the Fish – nice energy and Musicality, throw a bit of beat box in there and you’ll have it.
 

Ricky and the Pigeons – great energy on stage, performance and stage craft strong, lead guitarist came across really well but a weak song needed to be more distinctive.

 

Ten Zero One – well rehearsed big sound, could teach the old pro’s something with great presence, good work!
 

Joe Santini – great guitarist, good vocal and nice sound!
 

Charlie Woodgate – has got potential to have an amazing voice, keep training and in particular stage presence.
 

Emily Snowdowne –  nice overall package, stacks of potential, more practice on co-ordinating it all together and overcome the stage nerves and try not to be so nervous.

Georgia Slade – nice artistry, great voice, some vocal coaching would be beneficial as strayed from your scales.  
 

Symphonic –  strong performance, good name and good harmonies.
 

Sam Warren – excellent performance, work on bringing the song to life.

 

Six Shooter – great sound, classic sound with a good look.
 

Shade of Red – well rehearsed, great stage presence, unique sound, another eye catching front man. Be careful with your overall sound balance.
 

Zoe Dymott – nice sound but song was dull.
 

Stomping Goats –creative line up, musically interesting just think about group image.
 

Uncle Slacker and the Jelly Fish – material was strong and backed up with nice guitar work.
 

Mr Richards – enjoyable but just needed a stronger song and with better dynamics.
 

Richard Godfrey – good voice but needed to be more original.
 

Tiny Face Experience – great sound, tight performance, engage with the audience not each other. Song could be more engaging so perhaps work on dynamics or a different song choice?
 

Stone Angels – good voices but more projection needed, and with that develop on the energy.
 

The Castaways – lovely performance just try to perform with more confidence and attitude.
 

Unnamed Heroes – good sound, tight performance, stay in your comfort zone on stage.

Bare Bones Trio – think about group image vital for a stage presence.

 

Joe Wonder – wonderful creativity with guitar  develop lyrical hooks
 

Coco – lovely soothing sound but very busy rhythmically retracts overall with flow unfortunately.
 

The Swamp Gods – great look, develop stage presence, sync to the backing track a little insecure in places.
 

The Rising – good song, good looking line up, make sure you keep vocals fit and healthy.
 

The Confused – sound is good just work on being more engaging the audience

The Retreat – stay on top of lead vocal when playing, n sound

If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the Plymouth Regional Showcase Finals on 19^that the Plymouth Guildhall you can go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link; http://www.liveandunsigned.uk.com/live_shows