6th Year students, Jake Regan and Hugh O'Rourke, band members of Segrasso won Battle of the Bands 2013 with all their own songs! Jorden Bukspan (TY), was manager of the Battle of the Bands TY mini-company explains what was involved in organising the night, as does Ethan Brady. Watch the winning band on the Stratford College YouTube channel.
[Video: www.youtube.com]
For our Mini-Companies, we put on a Battle of the Bands in our school. I was the manager, and my fellow classmates, Seán Lysaght, Turlough Eccles, Carly Gresak and Ethan Brady were in the company too.
We spent months preparing and organising this event making sure that all the requirements were fulfilled. We organised free sound equipment thanks to XMusic and hired a sound engineer for the night. For the special winners prize we got a slot on Balcony TV, thanks to the manager Tom, who was also the MC. Our four judges were Tom (Balcony TV), Rebecca and Ray (BIMM Dublin) and Alex Lai (Stratford past-pupil (2012) and Music Student at BIMM Dublin).
On the afternoon of the event we organised the hall with the help of a few 5th Year students. We decorated the hall with balloons, set the stage, laid out the chairs and did up the 'Green Room' for the bands, with water etc. There was also so much preparation work in the previous weeks, like making posters, and even making and selling tickets! We had a few people on security to ensure a safe and enjoyable evening. That paid off well as everything went smoothly and there was no trouble!
The event took place on Tuesday, 19th February. We had five bands in total: Brass Monkeys, The Bizarre, Mr. Veiny Goose and the Casual Giraffes, Segrasso and Magic*8*Ball. We also had DJ Steve place some tunes while people were arriving.
The night was a great success with a full-house. All drinks and snacks sold out. The highlight of the night was the announcement of the winning band - Segrasso. Jake Regan and Hugh O'Rouke, 6th Year students in Stratford, were part of the band. Segrasso wrote all their own songs.
I was very satisfied in the end with no delays and punctual timing! I really enjoyed the organisational process, even running around on the night fitting all the pieces together! I'm very thankful for all of the support we got from the school staff and parents for helping to make this happen! Watch Segrasso sing "Thread" in their winning performance. Look at the 2012-2013 Gallery for more photos.
Jorden Bukspan (TY)
Stratford College held our annual battle of the bands on Tuesday 19th of February. The concert was a great success and we would like to express our gratitude to everyone who helped us organise the event and also to everyone who helped us on the night. Our T.Y. Mini-Company consisted of Ethan, Turlough, Carly, Sean and Jordan. It took dedication, persistence and a lot of time and effort, but we were delighted the night was a success and we learned many business skills. We would like to congratulate the winning band, Segrasso, and thank all the bands for participating.
Ethan Brady (TY)
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