Clark Brothers of Rocky Mount WON!
Had the News-Post not run a big front page story, above the fold, about the Clark Brothers from Rocky Mount entering the final round on The Great American Band show last night at 9 pm, we never would have tuned in to the Fox channel to watch. A big watching party was set up in downtown Rocky Mount, at the Resource Center, using their big-screen TV, but we stayed home and watched our own big-screen broadcast of the show.
I'm not a fan of reality shows, but this was an interesting contrast indeed. They were down to three finalists, after 12 bands had auditioned out of thousands that applied. The judges were a bit scruffy, as were some of the bands that were already eliminated. Smeared black eyeshadow, dirty hair, torn clothes, manic behavior. Goo Goo Dolls? ARGHHH. One member of that group was a judge, and a frightening-looking woman, another judge, played with a truly terrible women's band which was heavy on just-off-the-beat drumming. GAHHH!~
The other two finalists were a big band-type with a good lead singer and many brass horns playing recognizable covers, and a country group also playing covers. Then came the Clark Brothers! What a breath of fresh air. Three young men, the oldest may be 20 if that, playing the Dobro, mandolin and acoustic guitar (I believe one of them played the fiddle in another piece they played). They wore normal (ie, not profane) tee shirts, jeans without torn-out knees, sneakers. Their hair was clean, Beatle-length, simply parted in the middle. The lead singer (acoustic guitar) sang softly and with complete sincerety, with the Dobro player joining in harmony. The very large audience was enthralled; several teens carried signs, and I suspect teens were the predominant voters in this competition. The two runner-up bands were composed of 30-40 year old musicians.
But I don't think it was entirely an age-related selection. Even the Goo Goo Doll judge said he'd been aware from the time the competition began that the Clark Brothers were REAL. In an aside, he said he'd tried to fake that kind of passion and not succeeded.
I read in today's Roanoke Times that the Clark Brothers surprised everyone at last night's gathering by showing up and playing for them. Darn! We should have gone those six miles into town after all. But with the major recording contract they have now won, and the nationwide appeal of this competition, I think we'll have lots of chances to watch and listen to the Clark Brothers.
What a breath of fresh air. Normal tee-shirts (what, no profane messages?) normal (not torn) jeans, sneakers. They played dobro, acoustic guitar and mandolin, with one of the boys playing a fiddle in one number. They apparently write most of their own music, and sang soft ballads, one of them gospel-like. They just brought the entire show up out of the grungy
I'm not a fan of reality shows, but this was an interesting contrast indeed. They were down to three finalists, after 12 bands had auditioned out of thousands that applied. The judges were a bit scruffy, as were some of the bands that were already eliminated. Smeared black eyeshadow, dirty hair, torn clothes, manic behavior. Goo Goo Dolls? ARGHHH. One member of that group was a judge, and a frightening-looking woman, another judge, played with a truly terrible women's band which was heavy on just-off-the-beat drumming. GAHHH!~
The other two finalists were a big band-type with a good lead singer and many brass horns playing recognizable covers, and a country group also playing covers. Then came the Clark Brothers! What a breath of fresh air. Three young men, the oldest may be 20 if that, playing the Dobro, mandolin and acoustic guitar (I believe one of them played the fiddle in another piece they played). They wore normal (ie, not profane) tee shirts, jeans without torn-out knees, sneakers. Their hair was clean, Beatle-length, simply parted in the middle. The lead singer (acoustic guitar) sang softly and with complete sincerety, with the Dobro player joining in harmony. The very large audience was enthralled; several teens carried signs, and I suspect teens were the predominant voters in this competition. The two runner-up bands were composed of 30-40 year old musicians.
But I don't think it was entirely an age-related selection. Even the Goo Goo Doll judge said he'd been aware from the time the competition began that the Clark Brothers were REAL. In an aside, he said he'd tried to fake that kind of passion and not succeeded.
I read in today's Roanoke Times that the Clark Brothers surprised everyone at last night's gathering by showing up and playing for them. Darn! We should have gone those six miles into town after all. But with the major recording contract they have now won, and the nationwide appeal of this competition, I think we'll have lots of chances to watch and listen to the Clark Brothers.
What a breath of fresh air. Normal tee-shirts (what, no profane messages?) normal (not torn) jeans, sneakers. They played dobro, acoustic guitar and mandolin, with one of the boys playing a fiddle in one number. They apparently write most of their own music, and sang soft ballads, one of them gospel-like. They just brought the entire show up out of the grungy
posted by Marion | 5:40 PM
3 Comments:
Makes a pleasant surprise, doesn't it, when one comes across bands who appear "normal" and just focus on playing really good music - rather than faffing with image etc. Of course, one wonders how the "marketing gurus" will shape them going into the future.
We can only hope they won't try to conform to today's "image."
We watched it from the beginning and wanted the Clark Brothers to win but had no idea they were from here! They are "normal" as you say, but they are incredibly fresh and rich. And boy, they were rocking on those country instruments!
But when I told Kurt what you said about the judges, he said, "Why's she doggin' my Sheila E?" Ha ha.
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