It’s every teenager’s dream. Your brother’s beat-up, un-tunable Mexican-made Stratocaster is actually a 1969 Les Paul Custom, and your Peavey practice amp can actually be played above six without distorting. Your stack of Marshals is geared to the hilt with the finest distortion effects. It’s the middle of July, and you just finished your blistering, Jimi Hendrix-style Star Spangled Banner solo. As you chomp down on the closing power chord, your stage, located in the heart of the Meadowlands, erupts in applause. Everybody is chanting your name. All sorts of attractive teenagers are staring at you, filled with awe. Budding teenage musicians are watching your every move, anticipating when they will be able to stand in your shoes. As a matter of fact, it won’t be that long.
Only, some of the details will be a bit different.
For instance, instead of the Meadowlands, the site of the dream performance will actually be the Buchmuller Park Bandshell. And a lot of your family and friends will be in the audience.
The event? The first ever Secaucus Battle of the Bands.
So far, 11 bands have signed up for the show, which will take place on July 23 from 7 to 10 p.m.
“We have a tremendous music program in the high school, and if that creates an atmosphere where people make these bands, that’s wonderful,” said Mayor Dennis Elwell. “I support competition.”
The Battle of the Bands was sponsored by the Secaucus Municipal Alliance (SMA), a civic organization appointed by the mayor and council to provide activities to help keep kids off drugs and alcohol, and to work with schools to promote a healthy lifestyle.
This summer, the SMA has sponsored teen night on Fridays at the town pool.
Erica Mondadori is a teen member of the SMA, acting as a liaison between the SMA and the teenagers in town. “I said, why don’t we have a dance?” said Mondadori. “But that didn’t work out because we couldn’t find a location.”
Mondadori suggested the Battle of the Bands after realizing that there was an abundance of talented musicians, show-offs, not-so talented musicians, and aspiring rock stars in town who were looking for a place to rock.
Or, as she put it, “Lots of people in town have bands, and they hold local shows mostly in kids’ basements or in people’s backyards. They’ve been saying for a while that they wanted something bigger.”
Mondadori approached the mayor and council about the idea and they were amenable to it.
“I said let’s try it. We started talking about this about four years ago,” said Elwell. “It was brought up by [resident] William Donnelly.”
Mondadori expects the turnout to be large, since members of the 11 bands will pull in crowds.
Since they only have three hours, each band will be limited to two or three songs. The town will provide the PA system, and each band will bring their own instruments.
The Kiwanis club will provide cake, and the Meadowlands Hospital and Medical Center will provide water. The 11 bands are: No Shadow, Unforscene, A Hollywood Ending, Here For Days, Questions Left Unanswered, Nothing in Particular, My Pal Partisan, Last Cause, A Lot of Fire, Further Beneath, and Wedusa.
There will be a competition for both best original and best cover band.
“It’s really just another concert,” said Recreation Director John Voli.