Bands from across the state compete at DHS

Bands from across the state gathered at the Darien High School Auditorium Friday evening to rock out at the Connecticut Association of School's Bandjam Festival. Eight bands participated in the competition, including two from DHS, each comprised solely of ninth-grade musicians.

Drummer Will Trautmann, vocalist Kayla Buckley, guitarist Joe Berkowitz, bassist Stratton Powers and guitarist Andrew Eddie make up the band Stealing Free Samples, which performed covers of Led Zeppelin's "Rock and Roll" and Guns N' Roses "Sweet Child O' Mine."

The band's been together for a little less than two years, and was formed when the five members were in eighth grade at Middlesex Middle School.

"We work hard, and we practice every week, once or twice a week," said Berkowitz. The band felt confident before the showcase, he said.

"We're not nervous. We've played shows before. We play at the Depot a lot, but this is our first Bandjam," he said. The band came in seventh place, earning 62 points from the possible 100 judges could award the group.

Fellow Darien musicians guitarist Marshall McGee, drummer Dominic Hansford, vocalist Charlie Mercein and bassist Connor Nackley make up the group Feedback, which played "Under The Bridge" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers as well as the Jimi Hendrix version of "All Along the Watchtower."

Their songs were a natural choice for them, according to McGee, who said the band tends to play mostly classic rock.

"We're mostly interested in the same music," McGee said.

Though they didn't play any original music, they hope to do so in the future.

"We have some lyrics," he said. "It's like we have all the ingredients to make our own songs, we've just got to make soup now."

Feedback placed eighth in the contest, earning 54 points.

The first-place prize went to Frogg, a band of mostly upperclassmen from Westhill High School in Stamford, which earned 85 points. The band won a $100 gift certificate to Sam Ash Music Stores in Stamford, as well as three hours of recording time and the opportunity to play on the Main Stage at the New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas next month.

"We didn't think we were going to win," said vocalist Minou Clark, a senior, who formed the band along with her brother, Sky Moon Clark, who also performs some of the band's vocals, and plays guitar. Both of the Clarks were also awarded with one of the seven outstanding musician awards handed out at the competition.

The Westhill group, which is made up of six teens, formed back in February and plays mostly metal music. In the two-and-a-half months since its formation, the group has won a few competitions, including a Battle of the Bands at Stamford High School, Minou Clark said.

"I seriously can't believe it," she said with tears in her eyes after her band accepted its award.

The band Rethink from Danbury High School came in second-place with 83 points. The Danbury group earned a $50 gift certificate to Sam Ash, and will also have the opportunity to perform in New haven in June.