THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 4, 1994 TAG: 9408040090
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUE SMALLWOOD, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
FROM MORE than 7,000 submissions nationwide, five unsigned bands from Virginia and environs were chosen to participate in this year's traveling Ticketmaster Music Showcase.
The Lemmings, Plastic Eddie and Huey Nuisance and the Losers from Virginia Beach, East Is East from Annapolis, Md., and Burst of Silence from Baltimore will perform Friday night at the Peppermint Beach Club in Virginia Beach for a chance at cash and a week of studio time at the Bad Animals recording facility in Seattle.
A panel of three music industry representatives will be in attendance to decide which band, if any, will advance to one of three regional showcases to be held in Boston, Dallas and Seattle. The bands will receive $200 each for their local performance. Regional showcase performers will receive $1,000, and acts chosen for a national showcase in Los Angeles will receive $2,500.
``The bands that participate at the local level were selected by our A&R representatives, made up of A&R representatives at record companies, creative directors at music publishing companies, a couple of artist managers and one producer,'' said a Ticketmaster spokesman. ``All the tapes were listened to by more than one person.''
Whether the local bands advance to the national level or not, the showcase will provide valuable music industry exposure. Last year's grand prize winner, Verve Pipe from Lansing, Mich., is currently engaged in serious talks with Warner Brothers Records. Dishwalla from Santa Barbara, Calif., a participant in local and regional showcases last year, recently signed with A&M Records.
Why did Ticketmaster create the event?
``The music business is a large part of Ticketmaster's business,'' and the Music Showcase is a way for the company to give back to the music industry, the spokesman said. ``And hopefully, one of these bands may in five years be the next headlining tour.''
ANOTHER BEACH-BASED BAND, heavy alterna-rockers Kung Fu Dykes, should get its fair share of exposure when it plays Freedomfest, a concert series commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival, next week in Bethel, N.Y.
Kung Fu Dykes is the only band from Virginia invited to perform, says the band's manager.
More than 150 regional and national acts - including Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie - are scheduled to perform at the festival Aug. 11 through 22. Admission is free. ILLUSTRATION: MIRANDA RECORDS Photo
East is East will perform at the Ticketmaster Music Showcase Tour at
the Peppermint Beach Club.
SHOWCASE FACTS
Who: The Lemmings, Plastic Eddie, Huey Nuisance and the Losers,
East is East and Burst of Silence
When: 9 p.m. Friday
Where: Peppermint Beach Club in Virginia Beach.
For information: 491-2582.
by CNB