Live & Unsigned Ipswich auditions February 13th

Judge’s Talk Back

There were hundreds of great acts who turned out to perform, and whilst we can’t mention everyone, the judges tell us about some of the acts that stood out on the day. Of course, this could all change in the live shows…

Marlize Steyn, Vocal Tutor said, “I thought Angel-Ex were good, although I think the vocals needed to be a bit stronger at times as the band played over them in certain points of the song. The Gamblers came to the audition with a lot of attitude and I really enjoyed their performance. Sly Dog were very easy to listen to and had soft vocals, and Underline The Sky www.myspace.com/underlinethesky rocked!”

Chris Grayston, Head of A&R at Future Music, commented, “Angelesque were clearly very good, although the lead singer didn’t warm up her vocals and couldn’t compete with the backing track, I think this is something to work on. Burn The Headlines www.myspace.com/burntheheadlines displayed some great harmonies for heavy rock and all complimented each other really well. Batman Bigshot www.myspace.com/BATMANBIGSHOT gave no performance and got bogged down with the technicalities of the performance, when I thought the song and the tone of his voice were excellent and they should have been concentrating on that. Future of Legends www.myspace.com/thefutureoflegends had a great hook to start with but the track eventually lost my interest. Loyal 2 No 1 www.myspace.com/loyal2no1 were the best band of the day for me, they were really catchy and performed in unison. Daylight Faded www.myspace.com/thedaylightfaded was the strongest solo act of the day – the lyrics and vocals were very haunting. Bints www.myspace.com/mcbints were an authentic act but I think the performance needs a bit of work. The Road to V winners, Underline The Sky gave a great audition and are clearly contenders for making it all the way to the festival at the 02. Hopefully they’ll go further in the competition than The Rebs did last year – who were a really promising band.”

Jenny Lock, Entertainment Writer for Love Music 24 and The Ipswich Evening Star, commented, “Bad Moon www.myspace.com/badmoon69 were good and performed well on the day. I think if they had a rhythm guitarist and let the singer concentrate more on the vocals, they would be even better. Bad Touch www.myspace.com/badtouchtheband had great stage interaction with each other and showed great enthusiasm for the competition. Lucy Day and The Knights stood out although I think the image needed to be worked on – if they get a funky image to juxtapose with their music, it will be brilliant!”

Steve Hawthorne, Writer for Grapevine Magazine, thought, “Fear of The Unknown had a decent sound, but the lead singer needs to sing more and not sleepwalk! Bad Touch www.myspace.com/badtouchtheband were great, I loved the performance but I really loved the fact that they looked like they were enjoying themselves! Katie www.katiegoldsmith.co.uk was very polished and had fantastic original music. Mello Days guitarist stood out and Housework are clearly a tight band, I couldn’t believe they’ve only been together for eight months! I thought The Gamblers were good but needed to get rid of the backing track.”