Rock-Off finals to feature bands from the Valley

A panel of nine judges critiques the bands.
By SUSAN BENDER
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
CLEVELAND -- A Big Piece of Kake, a ska band from South Range High School in North Lima, on Saturday became the second and final Mahoning Valley band to make it to the championship round of the 2006 Mountain Dew MDX High School Rock-Off at the Odeon Concert Club.
Another Found Self, whose members hail from Boardman and Austintown Fitch high schools, earned a berth in the finals on the strength of its performance at the Jan. 14 semifinal round.
Twelve bands compete in each of the six semifinal rounds, with three advancing to the finals.
The 18 finalists will battle for the crown this Saturday at the Odeon.
The Rock-Off began Jan. 6 with 72 bands. A panel of nine judges critiques the contestants on timing, stage presence, musicianship and originality.
Kake
A Big Piece of Kake is most influenced by ska bands such as Reel Big Fish.
Ska is a type of music that began in the early '60s in Jamaica. It first spread to Europe and then the United States, and is now in its third wave of popularity with bands like No Doubt and Mighty Mighty Bosstones.
Kake consists of seven seniors and a sophomore. The band features a three-man horn section.
Bruce Daley, who plays trombone and sings backing vocals, and Mike Geffert, bassist and back-up vocals, founded the group.
The other members are Dave Pavlansky, keyboards; Tim Detwiler, trumpet; Pat Majernik, drums; Jeremy Valentine, lead vocals; Jeremy Strong, lead guitar; and sophomore Jeff White, tenor saxophone.
Daley said the band plans to put on a completely different set for its finals appearance.
"Having an eight-member band can make it difficult to get our timing down," said Daley. "It takes a lot of work, but we are having a blast so far."
Apparently timing was not a problem for the crew Saturday.
Another Found Self
Power-pop rockers Another Found Self are hoping this is the year they finally make it to the top. They've been in the competition for three years now, and made it to the finals in their first year.
"We're more experienced now," said Mark Catalano of Boardman, who plays guitar and piano and handles back-up vocals. "We kind of know what to do and how to act on stage. No one is nervous."
AFS -- which consists of four seniors and a junior -- played four original songs during its 20-minute semifinals set.
Will they do anything different in the finals?
"We're still talking about what we'll play," said Catalano. "We might have a couple of tricks up our sleeves."