Remaining, Coveted Spot Goes To Monreaux
By Esther Sanchez
It was a nail-biting battle last Sunday night at the Hood Bar in Palm Desert. For the past several months, bands have assembled and thrown their hearts on the stage for all to see and hear in order to win the chance to perform for the number one spot at the upcoming finale which we be held on May 7th at the Hard Rock in Palm Springs, where they will compete for $1000 cash, a recording consult with music producer Esjay Jones, and other prizes. Judges this past round included: local club-promoter and co-owner of Genesis Entertainment, Steve Johns; local music icon, award winning drummer and member of numerous internationally touring bands including House of Broken Promises, Unida and Lynch Mob, Mike Cancino. (Arthur Seay of HOBP, always one to shake things up, also chimed in with his opinion.) The 3rd judge to help seal the fate of the competition was talent manager, Chris Spellman, founder and executive producer of the Coachella Valley’s first ever Comic Con Palm Springs.
Every band brought their “A-game” and in the end, the scores were extremely close. In fact, only one point separated Monreaux from the second place act, the progressive, thrash band, Bloodshred, who, despite only having been together for around 4 months, were able to bring with them a clearly enthusiastic fan base and garnered quite a bit of enthusiasm and participation from the audience. Also there to compete were Foxy Cleopatra who showed strength in their musicianship and the CMFs who have been continuously blowing minds gig after gig with their soulfully mature sound (despite the fact that they range in age from 17-19 years old.) Come to think of it, it was yet another night where those of us who know and love our local music scene were able to beam with pride over the plethora of talent that radiates from our little spot on the map.
I digress, the big winners of the night were indeed, the boys from Monreaux. Made up of members of multiple bands that previously existed in the desert, Monreaux is a labor of love that has come a long way in a relatively short amount of time. Monreaux frontman, Giorg Tierez: “…we were stunned at the results, being such a new band with an even newer lead guitar joining recently…shocked even! It was a night filled with great talent in four different styles of music. We were just happy to perform in front of our friends and to share the stage with our peers. Nonetheless, we are thrilled with the outcome and look forward to the finals at the Hard Rock!”
This has definitely got to be one of those moments that make all of the sacrifices and uphill battles worthwhile. Next month, Monreaux will be joining fellow finalists: Murkocet, Bridger, Wicked Jed, and Razor J and the Blades, on the Hard Rock stage. This is a grand finale so mark your calendars, hire a sitter and head on downtown on May 7th to show your support for the CV Music Showcase and all of our home-grown rock stars.
(Photos By Scott Pam)
