Mark Tomeo
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Posted 5 Sep 2000 1:17 pm |
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My band, Neon Cactus, won first place at Starquest 2000, the country music competition sponsored by Jamboree USA at the Capitol Music Hall in Wheeling, W.Va., on Saturday, Aug. 26. First prize includes a guaranteed appearance at Jamboree in the Hills 2001 and $500. The judges ranked Neon Cactus first among the show's 15 contestants, who were selected from hundreds of country music acts that applied to participate. We performed two original songs from our debut CD, "Neon Cactus."
We don't think of music as a competition and I've always believed somewhat cynically that anytime you enter a battle of the bands, you're already a loser. For us, this was going to be a weekend out of town and a chance to play a legendary venue with great lights and sound.
But Jamboree in the Hills is major around these parts. Known as "the Super Bowl of country music," is a four-day outdoor festival that draws more than 100,000 fans and features the hottest acts in the business. It is scheduled for July 19 - 22, 2001 in Belmont County, Ohio, The thought of stepping onstage in front of 100,000 people is only begining to sink in.
One of the coolest parts of the weekend was hanging out with 11/70, the house band for the Capitol Music Hall. It includes Charlie McVey on pedal steel. He was the nicest guy and had the most gorgeous '69 Emmons D10 pushpull - rosewood mica with black lacquer wooden necks - rebuilt and reconditioned himself, it looks liked it came from the factory yesterday.
A most gratifying weekend overall.
http://www.neon-cactus.com
http://www.jamboreeinthehills.com
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