Music Competition Derby - Feedback From Live And Unsigned Derby Auditions!

Auditions for the music competition in Derby, Live and Unsigned, took place on Saturday 11^th February at The Riverside Centre, Derby. More than 400 unsigned musicians turned up to audition for the music competition in Derby in front of the judging panel of music industry specialists.

Judging the unsigned musicians for the music competition at The Riverside Centre, Derby, Richard Bryan from Bearded Theory Festival, Ashbourne Radio breakfast presenter Heather Cairney, Roy Bailey from Mirac Music, Tanya Russell from Lyric Lounge Review and the Head of A&R at Future Music, Ben Price

Well done to all those who auditioned for the band and singing competition in Derby especially the few who made it through to the Live Regional Final showcase on Saturday 14^th April at The Riverside Centre, Derby.

Find below feedback for a selected few from the day who stood out for both 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. We ask you to please take the feedback onboard with a view to helping acts improve.

Music competition derby – Audition Feedback!

Richard Curtis– Nice keys playing, think you could relax more with the vocals. Nice original song. Work on mic technique.

Karl Bayley– A very good performer but would like to see some original aspects brought into the act. Great image and a good singer.

Creatin’ Havoc– Like the song, but the act is messy. Needs to tighten up a lot. Practice makes perfect.

Neil Barker– Seemed very nervous. Shame.

KB– Well done on bringing the dancers, added something and they were generally well choreographed. Decent song. KB, you need to perform more.

Hayley Aherne– Great voice, the new Adele? Proper Bo!

Dakota– Looks the part. Nerves showed a bit flat in parts. Weak on the high notes.

BB Black Dog– Brilliant. Bearded Theory will be looking at you come the shows!

Chloe &the Project– Needs to be more chemistry between members and Chloe you need to stay in the performance during instrumentals. More rehearsal needed.

Junior Desai– Nice and tight and well performed. Decent song to say it’s very new. Lots of commercial potential.

Sarah Howes– Really nervous but loads of potential.

Riptide- Fantastic image but the vocals could be better.

Alice and Jono– Good voice and good acoustics. Needs to maintain confidence.

Feedback Voice– Nice sound but it needs more performance from all areas, it’s a bit static. Backing vocals will enhance and add another dimension.

L-J– Mic technique! Need to hold it close we couldn’t hear you. Perform with your whole body. Stay in the performance during instrumentals.

Hayley Rice– Would be great in a band. Really nice voice and great image.

Natalie Stratford – Write some of your own songs. Voice was flat due to nerves at the start but got a lot better at the end.

Olivia Walsh– Great voice, great image. Would do well with a band.

Vulture Culture– Really enjoyed the song. Great lyrics. Talented lads.

MUSIC COMPETITION DERBY – FURTHER FEEDBACK

Bullit– Vocals not the best but the performance was very tight.

Alpow– Decent but you do not look like a rapper! You’re a surprise package, well done.

Little J– Take the mic off the stand and perform to the judges. Nice flow but needs more passion. Nice beats. Wanted more from him though. 

Buried By Atlantis– Good for that type of music. Good energy.

Chelsea Love– Obviously has talent. Just a little nervous today.

Lee Goth– Loved it. Great image and voice. Get a backing group.

Saxy – Great voice but you need to write your own music to progress the act to a level where you will be discovered.

Emily Hinchcliffe– Great voice, write your own songs to bring on the act.

Josie Green– Mic technique needs to develop you’re concentrating on playing the guitar a little too much. Playing needs to develop but you have a nice voice.

Stevie Hutch– Not the best audition song. A very slow burner. Good passion. Heartfelt. Sweet lyrics and melody.

Dirty Warehouse Pilots– Lead vocalist needs work but enjoyed it more as it went on. Very Razorlight/Editors. Good lyrics but at time musically messy.

Lee Gough– Good festival act. A foot-tapping independence anthem.

Stephen Goodwin– Beautiful melody. An earnest performance. Definitely would like to hear more.

Duane– Well performed to the judges. Nice song but if you get through to the shows you need to pick something with more impact.

The Freefall– Very together. Good chorus and good harmonies. Funky!

Victoria Haslam– Great voice but wanted to hear you with your band!

Hearing in Colour– Very professional already.

Arthur’s Vision– Instrumental a bit too busy. Great image.

Kezia Gill– Like it. Female with attitude. Looks great. Good song. Nice vibe. Good songwriter and a good voice.

Josh Kemp– Good acoustic number. Good voice and a good songwriter.

Best Served Chilled– Got a good vibe from this band. Nice original sound created by the lead guitar.

Chronicles of Zee– More vocal control needed. Frontman looks the part and puts in a good performance but needs stronger vocals.

Polarise- The song is very basic in its structure. Frontman needs more energy he’s uninvolved when he’s not singing.

TTL Overdrive– Needs more energy in the performance but it sounds good. More chemistry between band members you’re all a little isolated.

1 Million Fingers– Good song! Well performed nice and tight. Awesome this really woke me up!

M Two– Brilliant image, confident. Could have done with a better song but stacks of potential. Top notch!

Small Town System– Song let them down. Obviously got great potential but the song was very flat. Really good front man.

Lighthouse Project– You work well together it could have been messy. Good vocals.

Alice M– Watch the American accent. Nice performer with plenty of potential.

DERBY MUSIC COMPETITION – FURTHER FEEDBACK

The Madoc Vanguard– Different from the other bands today. Made me want to dance! Great song. Electro indie. Very polished. British Killers?

Nelson Brothers– Brought a big smile to my face. Very nice, very marketable. Melodies need a few more layers. Backing music will bring on the act.

Lorna Hearn– Great voice but you need to start writing your own music to bring yourself on.

Ben McDonegal– Very good but very nervous. Has a Lucy Spraggan like quality to him.

My Own Agenda– Good but didn’t get the bass player kneeling down. Some good original elements coming through. Sound was brilliant come the chorus. Top band.

Zeo– Needs to be a bit more intense and project more. Could have taken the mic off the stand to perform more.

Timothy J Simpson– Good energy. Catchy song really enjoyed the performance. Very rock ‘n’ roll. I wanted to dance!

John Bacon– Quite catchy. Will be brilliant in time. Could do with a band in the long run. Keep up this performance level.

Thompson Oldeman– Different! Good vocals harmonies they’re great, as is the overall sound.

Decade Runners- Great vocals from all three. Nice bouncy song, a good audition. Good sound. Tight band. Good vocals. Very marketable.

Young Pain– Wasted 30 seconds on the intro! Very good though. Great song, brilliant voice and a very tight performance.

Blonde Mistake– 10 out of 10. Excellent. Change nothing! Loved the image.

Them Balloons– Looked nervous but very marketable. Good frontman and a decent song. Need some more harmonies though.

Compass – Great look and sound. Was singing along to this. Nice harmonies.

Ethia Kamara– Nice sound. Good voice and nice song choice. Good acoustic vibes.

The Glass Guns– Image is a little dated. Great voice! Good energetic performance from the whole band. Tight performance and great stage presence.

The Rash– Nice harmonies. Nice song but would have preferred something a bit more dynamic. Good audition on the whole but the song didn’t do you justice.

Talk Tomorrow– Great singer and a nice voice.

The Chase– Very talented, sure they’ll go far in the long run.

Twinkle and the Sluts– Great rock band with excellent energy.

Protoneers – Got a good arrogance about them. Good song too.

The Voyeurs– Tight band and great musicians. Vocals let the band down though. Good song!

MUSIC competition DERBY

Acts that make it through to the Live Showcases will be in with the opportunity to win a multitude of prizes. The winners of both the Blackstar Exposure Award, the award for the act with the largest quantity of submitted publicity material in relation to the competition, and the Extreme Exposure Award, the award for the act who performs the most high publicity stunt, will win a free day in a local recording studio worth up to £250, or if the winning act is a band, they’ll win a brand new Blackstar amp. The Live and Unsigned studio partner for Derby is the Mirac Music studio.

In addition, acts that make it through to the Live Showcases will be within a chance to win festival slots, with festival organisers selecting acts to perform at their 2012 festival at each stage of the competition. Derby acts will have the chance of being selected to perform a slot at a number of festivals with the Derby Regional Final festival partner being Bearded Theory Festival.

If you’d like to come along to see some of the bands and acts that made it through to the Derby Regional Showcase Finals on Saturday 14^th April at The Riverside Centre click here to go to the Live and Unsigned website to purchase tickets. If you want to get involved with Live and Unsigned next year then click here to enter.