Live Music Showcase At Essex Regional Final - Feedback
The Regional final live music showcase in Essex, took place as Basildon welcomed the best of unsigned talent for the first MusicRadar Live and Unsigned Regional Final of this year’s Competition. Basildon’s Towngate Theatre provided a good start to the live shows on the 26th February, with Fdot1, The Hunterzzz and Missing Andy headlining the three showcases between them.
Judges presiding over the Basildon Regional Final included Radio One’s Ras Kwame, vocal tutor Candy Ma, music journalist for the Telegraph and prolific blogger Cat Dal, Jordan Parr from BGM, Chris Grayston from Future Music Management and Ben Price from High Peak Radio.
The competition was fierce, and the standard was extremely high, well done to all the acts for putting on a great show! Credit goes especially the few who made it through to the Live Area Final shows on Sunday 15th May 2011 at the Towngate Theatre, Basildon www.basildon.gov.uk
Find below feedback for the day. Please be aware views expressed by Judges are opinions and subjective to that particular Judge 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 performed. So please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping.
Final 1
Sara Lilly– need to connect with the words, a nervous start and a bit out of key to start with, needs to look like she’s enjoying herself! Got stronger towards the end but should have merged songs
The Fraziers– like the front woman, good energy from the entire band, use that energy on crowd interaction as well. Good performance but could have been tighter
Alex Grover– well written song, needs to watch mouth organ banging on mic and needs to not shout into microphone. Otherwise nice act
Gentlemen Duke– nice to see a band enjoy themselves, would have liked to have heard a more original vocal for a band of this folky nature. Interesting Adele cover
Diamant Ballou– very good voice, need to work on nerves and take control of the low and belted notes. Nerves came across in the act. Bit of a boring choice of cover with no original take on the song
Mackley Drive- great vocal! The cover could have worked better with an original spin, got better throughout the performance with a great finish
Dodz – nerves seem to have got the better of him, needs to work on making the words clearer, and to engage the audience from the start. A little bit too shouty in places
Killing With Style– very rusty start, opening with vocals is always a gamble. Learn to play as a band as the vocals overshadowed everything. Liked the original song, but the cover was a bit too high for the vocals though
Lorena Cueva– great voice with beautiful connection with the words, great vibe and unique sound, nice playing but could have made it more lively
Myernark– don’t try too hard to be quirky. Vocals seemed a bit off key with the music. Good spin on an unusual cover though
Melissa Amorim– bit too backing track driven and a bit sleepy. Cute though and a lovely voice. Needs to work on breathing and projection of her vocals. She shows a lot of potential
Swagga – the originality is there and it would work really well if the vocals were up to scratch. They need to listen to each other and blend together as a band
Tony Blaize– beautiful voice and performer with great stage presence. Nice song. Be careful not to push the voice too much on the high notes
Shadow Honey– frontman has a decent voice. The cover didn’t really express what the band wants to achieve. Along the right lines when it comes to songwriting, vibe and sound
Just Another Tourist – liked the drummer he worked well with the bass. Interesting cover but frontman needs to add some more to the performance. A lot of good energy was given
Cameron Sanderson– good voice, nice choice of cover but why turn American? Showed versatility turning into rap. Great potential, has a lot of talent!
Dead Baby Birds – American?! Good choice of cover. Could have been more lively. Voices need working on and harmonising, as they sound too similar at the moment
Final 2
Emel Michael – after a nervy start, got stronger and gained confidence on stage. Nice persona, very fresh vibe, good stage presence, good vocal technique, let the voice release more in your performance
Chris Wilson– shaky vocals to begin with, overall good voice good stage presence, need to give a little bit more energy to the performance. Good choice of cover as it raised the roof!
Empty Headz– good choice of cover song as it allowed room for them to go into their own song. Great to see them enjoy their performance with their stage performance and energy. Great blend of sound
Denai Moore– good choice of cover, stepped it up nicely eventually maybe should have started at a fast tempo? Good vocals, working with a back up guitarist could work well
New Subjects– unique. Nice, fresh guitar sound with a good singer and a good rapper. Great original, won the crowd over. Great energy to the whole set. Good cover choice, definitely a band to watch!
Louise Orfina– need to gain some more confidence, Good expressive vocals with good connection to words
Last of the waiting– authentic rock track, good energy. Need to communicate more with each other on stage and listen to each other, great stage presence, and good hook in the last song
Rose Vendetta – nice style, voice needs some work on tuning. Also need to own the stage more and give 110% into the performance
Eastend Promises – nice cover, glad to see a band make it their own, slightly intimidating at times, otherwise really good band attitude
Fushi Mox – quirky cover choice, quirky original, there is definitely a market for them. Great energy and very fun. Don’t push the vocals too much
Shellie Nicholls – need to work on the breath support, otherwise really nice, soulful vocals, a pleasure to listen to
Panning for Gold – engaging front man, good original style, second vocalist a bit weak, great energy, and passion for music is very apparent!
Modupè– looks great, works the stage well, great voice, work on defining a unique sound and music style
The Dirty Sweets - good performance, would like to see some more band chemistry. Work on timing. Lead vocalist has a great powerful voice!
Sort You Right Nice - liked the idea of the band as a whole but it did not work as well as it could have done, was a little out of time and need to engage with each other more. Loved the female singer's powerful voice. Great dungarees!
Final 3
The Mannakings -slight tuning issues with guitar and vocals detracted from a high impact start. Needed more energy and got going all a bit late. Second track defiantly a huge improvement. Remember to engage!
Ben Drake -some backing vocals would have strengthened the overall sound and playing as one. Song was catchy and musically strong. Song stretched the vocal at times. Would like to have seen more energy from the band as a whole
Adam Duffill- nice original song, swapping instruments in a short set always looks a little clumsy and risky. Cover was a good choice but maybe not different enough. Needs some more confidence and stage presence
Big Dogg- funk-u-like-er! Had some groove going on! Very entertaining and unique, great band chemistry. Wasn’t mad on the cover didn’t suit the lead vocalists range
Charlie Wallis-would have liked to see him sing in a more natural voice, was far more comfortable singing the cover. Choose a song which is in your vocal range next time. Great song writing skills
Buckle Street-would have benefitted from a stronger dynamic to the first track to start with, building the music towards the end came in too full. Cover was the same musically great but a bit one paced. A casual yet confident performance
Fall to Oblivion-great energy and commitment, need to blend in more, don't push the voice too much, loved it, well rehearsed head banging and good cover!
Jade Spiro- there were slight musical timing issues, may have been better with an acoustic guitar accompaniment, as the instruments clouded her vocals. A great strong voice just needs a style to match
Morning Lane-polished sound and really made the cover their own. Backing vocals would have made the sound fuller on the cover just a few Hums didn’t do it
Spineless Yes Men-great name for a band! Front man has great energy but focus on the vocal more on the first track. Very engaging, got the audience going! A real act on stage
The Lilymoons- lead vocals had a strong vocal, would like to see more commitment in the performance
Jon Norris- nice song, with good, strong vocals. Good choice of cover; great version of the song, not so keen on the vocal change was a little odd. Need to bring more energy to performance
Mother Folkers- nice, bluesy, lazy sound, which sat well on the ear pallet. Really good sound, perhaps one of the females should take more of the vocal lead?
The Run Out-good energy backed up with a full sound. Try to connect more with the lyrics. Superb song choice, and the guitars worked well
Up Down Go Machine- musically full and tight with a catchy melody, just need to engage with the audience!
Simon Jaymes- strong guitar playing but a bit sleepy, needs something to stand out. Song was nice but a little repetitive. Stunning texture to voice
The Filthy Habits-bit of Jagger in the front man, that can’t be bad! Guitarist had some inventive moves! Timing went a little in places but engaging and passionate performance!
The Long Run-good sound but, a bit of country going on which detracts from the line up on stage and image
If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the London and East Area Showcase Final on Sunday 15th May 2011 at the Towngate Theatre go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets with the following link;
Industry Judges
Jimi Savage
Guitar Mogul
