Two more days… That’s all that stands between us and the start of the ultra-competitive judging process to determine the finalists for Xconomy’s Battle of the Tech Bands. In case you haven’t heard, the big event is taking place on July 30, at the Washington Technology Industry Association’s annual summer celebration in Seattle (event details and band instructions here). The deadline for band submissions is this Friday, June 12, at midnight Pacific Time. All you have to do is send your band’s info (and an MP3 or two) to [email protected].
We’re looking for the best five bands to perform on July 30 as finalists. Each must have at least one member who works at a Northwest technology, life sciences, or tech-investment organization. Each will get 15 minutes of set time in front of an audience of hundreds. Our judges will include Steve Hall of Vulcan Capital (a lead guitarist himself), Jeff Lin of Microsoft (co-founder of the band Harvey Danger), and Peter Blecha, author of Sonic Boom!, the definitive book on the history of rock and roll in the Northwest (and former senior curator of the Experience Music Project). We’re working on prizes too, and hope to make an announcement about that soon.
So will the next Pearl Jam or Fleet Foxes make its debut on our stage in July? Will the top band of the evening be from Microsoft, a small tech startup, or a life sciences firm? Or will the best young band out there not even get heard because it didn’t get its act together in time? (That’s rock and roll for you.) If you’re thinking of entering, don’t delay. The clock is ticking…
