Rock on: Garage bands to battle it out at First Night

Click Here to Recommend Story View larger image Clockwork Asylum — formerly called Failure at Random — a garage band from Stephens City, practices recently for the Battle of the Bands competition, which will be held tonight during First Night Winchester. From left are Sherando High School graduate Kane Logue, 19, on electric guitar, and current Sherando students William Gaines, 16, on bass guitar, and Tim Thompson, 18, vocals and electric guitar. Photos by Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Gareth Pyle, a 15-year-old Sherando High School student, plays drums with glow-in-the-dark sticks for Clockwork Asylum during a recent practice in the basement of his home in Stephens City.

By Laetitia Clayton - lclayton@nvdaily.com

It is perhaps the dream of every high school garage-band member to one day become a rock star -- or at least to make a living by playing music.

Tonight, three area bands have a chance to move a step closer to their dream when they compete in the Winchester Youth Development Center's Battle of the Bands during First Night Winchester.

Gutterhead, from Winchester; Clockwork Asylum, from Stephens City; and The Braes, from Berryville, will each perform original and cover tunes for audiences at the Old Town Event Center, at 303 S. Loudoun St. in Winchester, from 9 to 11:15 p.m. Each band will play for about 45 minutes.

The winning group receives $700, second place gets $200 and third place gets $100, said Monica Elliott, program coordinator at the YDC.

The competition started 12 years ago, she said, and began because high school students who were in bands requested it.

"When it was suggested, we tried it out and it was successful, so it has continued," Elliott said.

The four members of Clockwork Asylum, who formed their band just for the competition -- they were originally called Failure at Random and have since gone through several name changes -- discussed their group's formation on a recent snowy day in the basement of their drummer's house.

"It was completely an impulsive thing," 18-year-old Tim Thompson said of the decision to form the band.

But the four teens weren't strangers -- all of them either still go to Sherando High School or have recently graduated from there. Two of them -- Thompson, the band's singer, guitar player and writer, and 15-year-old drummer Gareth Pyle -- have been playing together for about three years and have performed twice in The Last Band Standing competition, which is sponsored by Frederick County Parks and Recreation. Kane Logue, 19, on lead guitar, and William Gaines, 16, on bass guitar, round out the group.

The YDC's 2009 competition began in the fall, with the third round taking place in November.

"I went to see the other bands play [at the YDC in October]," said Gaines, who has been playing guitar for two years and bass for one. "I really wanted to be in a band."

Pyle said since only a few groups were signing up, the four of them decided to form a band on the spot. "It was a good opportunity," he said.

When Clockwork Asylum performs at First Night tonight, it will be the first time the four of them have played together for an audience. But they said they are ready, as they've been practicing for at least two hours three days a week.

As they break into a version of Ozzy Osbourne's "Crazy Train," the practice sessions seem to be paying off. But 45 minutes is a long time for a young band.

"We have two covers and the rest is original," Thompson said, admitting that he still had some lyrics to write for some of the original songs. The group describes their music as rock, metal and power ballads, with names such as "Welcome to Hell" and "The Last Stand."

Most of the members play by ear and taught themselves, except for Pyle, who takes lessons. He has been playing drums for four and a half years, and also played guitar when he was 6 or 7 years old. "So I was real proud of that," he said.

Thompson has been playing guitar for about six years, while Logue, who plays most of the band's guitar riffs and writes some of the music, said he has been playing "forever." Thompson is the only singer in the group at this point, and "right now, I'm the only one who's written lyrics," he said. "I just play everything by ear."

Their influences range from the well-known, such as Eddie Van Halen (Van Halen) and Neil Peart (Rush), to Daft Punk, a techno band, and local musician Ricky Ruscito.

Thompson said the winning band is chosen by the audience at First Night.

"It's mostly gonna be a fan-based thing," he said.

The group plans on winning, but noted they will at least come in third place. As for after the competition, they hope to continue playing together locally.

"We're gonna keep on as long as we can," Thompson said.