Indy record shop holds battle of high school bands
Winning group moves on to national competition and chance for musical fame, By John Church Franklin The road to musical fame starts in Franklin. Well, at least it did on Saturday night. As part of the High School Battle of the Bands contest, Eyeconik Records and Apparel in Franklin was host to a night of live entertainment. The winner of this event will go on to compete against bands nationwide and will have one of their songs included on a compilation album to be released on Record Store Day, April 17, 2010. “Only about 20 bands are competing nationwide,” said Justin Tyskewicz of Franklin. “An album might have 10 to 12 songs so the odds of getting on the compilation are pretty good.” Tyskewicz is one of three general partners of Eyeconik Records and Apparel along with April Tassillo, of Franklin, and Eric Cooper of Randolph. The store was originally located on Main Street in Franklin but when the more visible location on Route 23 became available the partners decided to relocate. The shop buys and sells new and used records. “We have about 10,000 records here,” said Cooper. While digital media are well suited to mobile applications Cooper prefers to listen to vinyl when he is at home. “Many people don’t realize that new albums are still being pressed. Albums have a more authentic sound as compared to digital recordings. You can hear every instrument when listening to a record,” Cooper said. Compact discs may develop cracks or start delaminating under extreme conditions and electronic recordings may fall prey to an electronic glitch. “Records are forever,” said Tassillo. “You can put on a record for your grandkids to listen to.” Local talent The High School Battle of the Bands is only being run through independent record stores. Eyeconik is the only store in New Jersey to participate. Handed to the Thousands was the first of two bands to play Saturday. Based in Rockaway the band consists of Nick Kuzevski of Rockaway, Mike Bondy of Hackettstown, Oliver Torres of Rockaway, Andy Stampfl of Pompton Plains, Juan Avalos of Dover and Jon Dolan of Lincoln Park. After four songs there was a break as the bands moved piles of equipment. Hearts of Kings, made up of John Clifford, Ryan Conolly, Greg Laforgia, Kyle Crosson and Alex Johnson all of Bronx, N.Y., closed out the night. The grand prize winner will get a collection of Fender brand instruments, studio time and production services. The votes were cast online and voting closed Sunday night.
And the local winner is ...
27,382 votes for Handed to the Thousands 73 percent 9,904 votes for Hearts of Kings 26 percent
Handed to the Thousands was voted the favorite band. They will have their music forwarded to be entered in the finals.
A selection committee, including Merovinigan Music’s president Jack Ponti and Fender’s director of entertainment marketing Del Breckenfeld, will select a grand prize-winning band, and nine runners up.
These bands will be announced on April 17, 2010.
Eyeconik Records
3 general partners
10,000 records
2 bands
Uncountable decibels