The count is in. The official winner of Alberta’s Last Band Standing is The Flash Jam, a five-man hybrid from Edmonton.
“They had really good songs and really good energy,” says organizer Lyndon Golanowski describing the band’s eclectic mix of pop-punk, post-hardcore and electronica.
Since The Flash Jam scooped up their $50,000 prize package at The Taphouse on Saturday, June 19, they’ve barely had time to catch their breath.
“They didn’t even have time to celebrate,” says band manager Travis Nippard of Fly Productions. “On Sunday they went straight into Powersound with Trevor Hurst of Econoline Crush to record their single, Carry On. There’s a definite possibility it will catapult them to bigger and better things.”
After the three-day recording session, vocalist Jamie Mclean, keyboardist Stefan Candie, guitarist Oliver Banjac, bass player Brody Krock and drummer Andrew Morren let loose at Boonstock Festival on Friday.
Although the band only formed in 2008 and released their first four-song EP in December 2009, they’ve already opened for some fairly high profile acts — Crash Karma, Faver Drive and Stereos to name a few.
“Since they won the competition, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing from radio stations across Alberta and people trying to book them.”
Nippard speculates that the band’s success is due to their grounded attitude. “They’re a bunch of great guys with their heads in the right place.”
Although The Flash Jam is a newbie band, Mclean, formerly of Calico Drive, has been in the music business for 10 years and he’s balancing some of his hard-earned savvy with the inexperience of younger players. “Now he’s got the drive and the experience to take things in stride.”
In addition to a three-day recording session, the band has won a website design, a Canadian tour that is being planned for August to September and a $10,000 video shoot for Carry On.
“If the right person sees their show, they’ll have a record deal,” predicts Nippard. The Flash Jam’s single Caught on the Dance Floor is playing on NOW Radio102.3 FM and band information is available at www.myspace.com/theflashjam.
The first place runner up was White Lightning, a pop-rock party band. “They’re a great band with lots of energy. And their lead singer Steve Bosch is kind of quirky. He looks like Napoleon Dynamite on energy drinks,” chuckles Golanowski.
The second runner was The Apresnos, an alt-rock party band with a unique look and entertaining sound.
Golanowski adds, “We had a great run and I look forward to holding next year’s round of artists.”
