Telluride's The 525s, Battle of the Bands at The Llama 9/29/11

28 Sep Telluride's The 525s, Battle of the Bands at The Llama 9/29/11

Thursday, September 29, Telluride’s Llama hosts a Battle of the Bands and The 525s are invited. Doors at 9 p.m. Curtain up at 10 p.m. Cover charge: $5.

“It’s a real honor to be asked to join the fray,” says guitarist and songwriter Suzanne Cheavens. “For such a small town the local music scene is very vibrant, so to be included in this contest is a real tip of the hat to how far we’ve come.”

The 525s evolved from a short-lived women’s program at Mark Galbo’s Rock and Roll Academy in 2008. Original members Barbel Hacke, bassist Cindy Eckman and Suzanne remain from those nascent years, joined this summer by drummer Phil Hamilton. And Baerbel, the lead singer, is ready to show Battle of the Band fans what The 525s have up their sleeves.

  “The beat is on and so are we! It’s been challenging and exciting to have a new drummer,” Suzanne adds.

With Hamilton on board, The 525s’ former “all-women” status goes out the door. But that’s OK.

“Playing with Phil has invigorated our performance and brought the band to a whole, new level,” continues Suzanne. “He’s so fun to jam with and is a kindred spirit in that, like me, music is a huge part of his life.”

“Music is as important to me as breathing,” Phil explains. “I cannot remember a time when music was not an integral part of my life. As far back as I can remember, my parents were always playing music in the house. Never television. By the time I started playing drums in the 4th grade, they had already been taking me to rock concerts and my own record collection was well underway. With the exception of completely unplugging while in the wilderness, I believe that everything we do in life is made better when accompanied by sounds.”

Excitement among the competing bands is palpable. While there is a little good-natured smack-talking going on, each group is rising to the requirements set forth by contest manager and The Llama’s talent buyer, Tom Fortier. Bands are judged not only on what they create on stage, but how well prepared they are in terms of production notes and event promotion. Posters produced by each of the bands are cropping up all over town and the designs are a testament to not only to the talents of our graphic designing friends and neighbors, but also to Telluride’s devotion to its own, homegrown live music scene.

The top two band winners from Battle of the Bands receive a cash prize and a gig at The Llama in early December.

Go shout out for your favorites. And shake a shoe too.