2004 HIGH SCHOOL ROCK OFF Boardman rocks!

By DEBORA SHAULIS
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
eing a Spartan -- a person of courage -- is one way to describe finalists in the 2004 High School Rock Off. After all, they must perform their music for live audiences without knowing how they will respond.
Spartan has double meaning for the Mahoning Valley's representatives in the contest. All three bands -- Another Found Self, Blackwater and Jupiter Hollow -- are from Boardman High School, where teams are nicknamed Spartans.
Those bands and 15 others will compete Saturday night in the "Final Exam" at Odeon Concert Club in Cleveland's Flats district. The winner's prizes will include cash, musical equipment and a job as opening act for a major band to perform at the Odeon.
Hundreds of teen musicians from Ohio auditioned for this contest via demo recordings. Seventy-two acts were chosen as semi-finalists. That list was whittled to 18 over the past three weekends.
Another Found Self
Advancing to the finals just added to the momentum of Another Found Self, an alternative rock/pop quintet that formed about a year ago.
Newest member Dom Devin, a freshman and rhythm guitar player, was making his first appearance with the year-old band on the same December night that Another Found Self won another contest at Metropol nightclub in Pittsburgh. There were 60 bands in that battle, noted Mark Catalano, a sophomore and lead guitarist.
Their prize package included recording time in a Pittsburgh studio, which Another Found Self used to make a five-song EP, "The Opaque Sessions."
Catalano and lead vocalist Julian Smith, also a sophomore, have been songwriting collaborators since eighth grade, Catalano said. They've also been the constants of Another Found Self.
Catalano got to know junior drummer Nick Sainato last year because they played in Boardman High's jazz band. Then he met Devin through Sainato. Dave Albani, a senior, entered the picture because Catalano was interested in Albani's younger sister. He visited her at the Albani home one day, saw a bass guitar in the basement and asked who it belonged to. As one relationship blossomed, the other withered: "Me and his sister haven't talked along those lines for a long time," Catalano said.
Another Found Self played four songs during its 20-minute semifinal performance on Jan. 18. One of those songs, "Love and Lies," was written just a month earlier. People told the band that it sounded like something Vertical Horizon would sing. Rock Off judges compared the band's overall sound to Matchbox Twenty.
"Funny, none of us ever thought that," Catalano said.
Before Devin joined the band, "We sounded a lot more jazzy," Catalano observed. "Dom added our alternative flavor." Still, Another Found Self isn't interested in adhering to a genre.
"We don't really see a point in setting our music to one thing," Catalano said. "We figure it should just be whatever we are."
The band's inspirations are just as broad. Topping Catalano's list are Led Zeppelin with its blues-minded classic rock; Nirvana, leaders of grunge; and Weezer, with its quirky style and cult following.
Jupiter Hollow
Boardman might be a big high school, but it's a small world for young musicians. The first rock band Catalano played in included a bass player named Andrew Carlson -- the same young man who finished second at the 2003 Rock Off and who's returning to the finals this year as a member of two bands, Jupiter Hollow and Blackwater.
Carlson also entered as a solo act and made it to the semifinals. His triple presence in the Rock Off has been labeled as "very rare and exceptional" by contest coordinator James Minella, who's director of special events for Clear Channel Entertainment in Cleveland.
Talk about momentum -- Jupiter Hollow has a second winning musician in its lineup. Anthony LaMarca was still in middle school when he, his older brother and a cousin comprised The Deep and won the Rock Off twice, in 2000 and 2001.
Anthony LaMarca is now a junior, as are Carlson and Tony Cucitrone. All three take turns playing guitar. LaMarca and Cucitrone also play drums, while LaMarca and Carlson share bass guitar duties.
Their style is called indie rock, but, "We just classify it as rock and roll," LaMarca said. "People have said we kind of sound like Talking Heads or The Police. We are fans of both bands, so it's not a bad thing."
The Jupiter Hollow players aren't resting on past successes or musical approaches in preparing for this year's finals.
"This is a completely different style of music than before," LaMarca said. The Deep was blues-based, he explained. The band he joined after The Deep featured Tower of Power-style horns. Carlson advanced last year as an acoustic singer-songwriter.
"I think it just keeps things interesting by changing styles," LaMarca said.
The Rock Off semifinals marked Jupiter Hollow's first public appearance, although all three musicians have known each other for some time.
"It's really a lot easier to put everything together because we've been playing together for so long. We're kind of all in the same mind-set when we're playing," LaMarca said.
Blackwater
The members of Blackwater also are comfortable with each other, having performed as a group for about two years at places such as Irish Bob's on South Avenue and Youngstown Sports Grille in Boardman Plaza.
Guitarist Timon Kaple, a senior, shares vocals with Carlson, who plays bass. Drummer Adam Kalcic also is a senior. Blackwater plays classic rock and blues and holds Eric Clapton and his former band, Cream, in high esteem, Kaple said.
The trio expects a high level of competition Saturday, even though they haven't heard much of the other finalists' music, Kaple said. They're pretty sure that their classic rock and blues style separates them from the pack, since that kind of music is not what's popular today.
"We're definitely different," Kaple said. "We do a lot of improvisation in our songs, which is something a lot of bands can't or don't do."
The type of music they play makes that possible, he noted. That's why they like classic rock. "Musician's music is what it is," Kaple said. "It's the music that stood the test of time. ... That stuff has substance to it and deserves to be on the radio."
Improvisation also comes easier to them because of their musical knowledge; all have had formal training or private lessons, Kaple said. He intends to study music in college and perhaps become a session player, he added.
Kaple and company are not overly concerned about being the first band to perform Saturday night. They plan to play three or four songs during their 20 minutes on stage and are adjusting their performance based on the feedback they got from judges during the semifinals.
"I think we're going to try to step it up a notch for the finals, take everything to the next level," Kaple said.
There's that Spartan spirit.
shaulis@vindy.com