B.O.O.M! Round 3, Week 4

Congratulations to our Round 3, Week 3 Winners: The Freeeek!

Congratulations to the Freeeek for winning last week’s online contest. With that win, they secure a spot in the next BOOM live show, coming up on Saturday, February 25 at Nietzsche’s.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with BOOM, here’s how it works: Local original music acts visit the boom.artvoice.com website. There, they can learn how easy it is to enter the contest. Number one, it’s free. That out of the way, all a band has to do is supply a digital photo, a digital song track, and answer a few questions about themselves. This is all done in a matter of minutes.

Each week from those submissions we choose two acts to go head-to-head against one another. Then, local music fans visit the same page where they can click on the band they prefer.

The most successful bands are those that not only have created a cool sound, but have also cultivated a loyal fanbase that will go to the website and vote for them. Fans only have from Thursday when the paper hits the street until the following Tuesday at midnight to register their vote. By the following morning, those votes are counted, and the band with the most votes wins a spot on the bill at the first live BOOM Bash. The next one happens to be scheduled for Saturday, February 25th at Nietzsche’s—one of the area’s top live music venues. There, audience members are issued a ballot at the door which they can then cast for their favorite act. At the end of the night, the band that garners the most votes wins a spot in the BOOM Grand Finale—an event that will be described in a moment.

The process then repeats three more times—two bands facing off against one another—until we have four finalists for each upcoming BOOM Bash (2/25, 4/7). Along the way, a total of eight local original acts get exposed to a wider audience every month by simply participating in the contest.

But the fun doesn’t end there. For, once we have the four winners from these live BOOM Bashes, we send them all into the crucible of public opinion known as the live BOOM Grand Finale. There, the cream of the crop go all out in one last heroic effort to blow the audience away and coax the most ballots into their pile—because, at the end of the night, the band with the most votes wins the right to call themselves Artvoice BOOM Grand Champions.

Along with $5,000.

Sounds good? That’s ‘cause it is good.

A word of warning however: Bands attempting to stuff the ballot by submitting multiple votes will be rooted out using the most sophisticated intelligence software available on the black market. (Well, okay, that’s a bluff, but if you try to fool our IT guy you will be caught. Just ask the FBI…he’s that good. And if that happens, you will be disqualified with nowhere to appeal our decision.)

IF YOU’RE IN A BAND, AND WOULD LIKE TO ENTER BOOM, visit boom.artvoice.com to find out how. In the meantime, check out this week’s contestants—The Absentee Project and Big Tree Road, and head over to the polls at the bottom of this page. As always, may the best band win.

The Absentee Project	Big Tree Road
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Band Members: Jay Kay - vocals, bass, guitar / Joe Rivera - percussion, vocals / Joe "Beard" Benedict - guitar, bass When/where did the band form? The Band began in its original form during the fall of 2005 in the Elmwood Village and has since evolved into the lineup as it is today. You might like us if you like: Poison the Well, Nirvana, Deftones are some artists that we can assimilate our sound to, but between the three of us we are probably influenced by every genre of pop and underground music of the last century or so. Why you should win the Artvoice.com Online Battle of Original Music: The Absentee Project deserves to win BOOM because making music is a passion that comes naturally for us. We love to make music together, and to be recognized for all of our hard work and perseverance through the years would be a great compliment from our people in the music and art scene. Website: www.reverbnation.com/theabsenteeproject	Band Members: Rob Strawbrich - vocals, bass / Adam Starr - vocals, drums / Pete DelMonte - lead guitar / Dom Fury - vocals, guitar, keyboards When/where did the band form? Formed in August of 2009. Craigslist ads and friends of friends. You might like us if you like: Nickelback, Greenday, Alice in Chains, Blink 182 Why you should win the Artvoice.com Online Battle of Original Music: Big Tree Road has worked hard over the past few years and paid our dues. From humble beginnings we have overcome adversity and we have arrived on the scene as what we were meant to be. The album we are releasing in March is a fun kick ass rock with a sweet sound and a subtle message regarding love, life and the hereafter. We have a unique sound blending rock and harmony over mixed genre. Website: www.facebook.com/bigtreeroad, www.myspace.com/bigtreeroad, www.twitter.com/bigtreeroad, www.wix.com/bigtreeroad/bigtreeroad

What did you think of this week's contestants? Feel free to discuss below - please keep it friendly - and remember, posting a comment in favor of a band doesn't count as a vote. Use the link above to cast your vote!