Battle of bands has become a tradition

By John Benson

entertainment@vindy.com

Barry Gabel, senior vice president of marketing for Live Nation, recalls the origins of the High School Rock Off. His intentions in that inaugural year of 1996 were simple: survival.

“Early on, my aspirations were to make sure the kids didn’t take Sharpie magic markers and mess up the walls in the bathroom,” Gabel said, laughing. “My worry was the club wouldn’t look the same afterward. It turned out to be a phenomenal event not only for the kids and their families and their friends, but honestly for Belkin Productions and now Live Nation. Our thinking was, we live in Cleveland and who is going on tour? We were still paying a light bill at The Odeon, so we came up with the idea of let’s do a battle of the bands. The first year we had 36 bands. I never thought it would grow into six performances and then a final like we have today.”

Fast forward to the 15th Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off, which takes place weekends Saturday through Feb. 12 at the House of Blues, where 72 bands will vie for a prize package that over the years has grown into something special. The winning band receives $500, a full-color 3-foot-by-8-foot vinyl banner printed with the winning band’s logo, a $500 gift card from Sam Ash Music and 24 hours of recording time. In addition, the group will appear on Tri-C’s cable-television programs “Crooked River Groove” and “Words & Music.” Perhaps the most lucrative prize for the winner is the fact they will have the opportunity to open for a national band at the House of Blues or a Live Nation venue. The winning outfit’s high school band fund also will receive a $200 donation.

Second place will receive $200 in cash plus a $100 donation to their high school band fund, as well as 12 hours of recording time. Third place will receive $100 in cash and 12 hours of recording time. All finalists receive a $25 gift certificate to Sam Ash Music and record a song for this year’s High School Rock Off CD.

The impressive prize list proves the Rock Off has grown into quite a large event — a rite of passage among angst-y teenagers with stars in their eyes and music in their hearts.

“Even though we haven’t gotten any country bands or an a cappella group, what we get is a great conglomeration of music — ska, punk, metal, rock and progressive rock,” Gabel said. “The one thing I hear from a lot of our judges is, ‘Holy cow, these kids can really play.’ It used to be, ‘I hope they just stay in tune.’ Now they’re really into their music, into their set and are asking if they can get their lighting cues to the light guy. They come with T-shirts, buttons and CDs in hand. They have press kits and want to know if they can open for other acts. They are very serious, and that’s one of the things I’ve seen through the years.”

Apparently, after a decade and a half of Rock Hall City Rock Offs, the competition has finally garnered national attention with Gabel saying House of Blues venues in other cities have staged their own local battle-of-the-bands event copied off the successful Cleveland venture. There’s even talk of making it a larger event, where each city’s local winner will compete for a national title. That’s still a few years away.

In the meantime, Gabel remains proud of the longevity behind the Northeast Ohio Rock Off.

“I’m not surprised that it has lasted this long because there are kids playing music in every basement and every garage at every high school across America,” Gabel said. “And as long as there’s three chords and a cloud of dust, kids will always want to get on a stage.”

For more information about the 15th Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off, go to kisscleveland.com/rockoff.