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Artscene Local band takes home top honours in newspaper Battle of Bands contest By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF · FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2009 33 Metroland readers think Oakville band is Alright Alright It was a great way to start the day. That's what Omar Saab said about receiving the news on Tuesday morning that Alright Alright had won the Metroland's Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition. This is the first major win for the Oakville band and one they will cherish, Saab said. "We feel great and are filled with excitement," said Saab, lead singer and guitarist. "When we started as a band, we did a lot of battle of the bands competitions, but we never won. Going into this, I had no idea we would win the first round, and even going into the second round, we kept our expectations low because of past experiences. That's why it was a much bigger surprise when we found out this week that we had won." Alright Alright beat out the other regional finalists, Burlington's We Are Bravest and Milton's No Reason to Stay, in last week's online voting in the championship round. Saab said the band members checked out the videos of the other groups and were impressed by what they saw. "We thought they were really talented," he said. "They were different genres of music and it is good to have that diversity in our area." Alright Alright beat out four other bands in the Oakville preliminary of the competition late last month. Saab attributed that win to the band's fans. He did the same for this victory. "We're really thankful for all the people that helped us out by voting," he said. "It is reassuring to have the support and it's amazing that things are starting to move for the band faster than we expected." The title of Metroland's Best of the West is accompanied by a performance spot at Burlington's renowned Sound of Music Festival this summer. Saab said the band members are thrilled to be playing at the event, which features major Canadian talent. "I remember going to the Sound of Music festival when Sloan played and it's a big deal because a band like that was important to us," he said. "I remember there being a field of thousands and thousands of people, so it is a bit overwhelming, so we're taking the good news in stride knowing that we have to perform at the end of June. We're really looking forward to playing the festival." Another part of the prize is special publici- SUBMITTED PHOTO WE WILL ROCK YOU: Alright Alright is the champion of Metroland's Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition. The Oakville musicians include, left to right, Curtis Courtemanche, Dave McCamus, Omar Saab and Graeme Moffatt. ty, with this feature story running in the Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Flamborough newspapers. "Nothing can go wrong with getting your name and photo in the paper, so we're thrilled about that," said Saab. "Hopefully people read it and get a good impression of who we are and check out our music." The band officially formed under the name Alright Alright two years ago. It consists of four Oakville natives, who are all aged 19. Members include Saab, bassist Graeme Moffatt, guitarist Dave McCamus and drummer Curtis Courtemanche. However, their friendship goes further back than the band's birth two years ago. "Three of us went to Abbey Park High School together and our bass player, Graeme, went to Cawthra School of Arts, but he had gone to elementary school with Dave, our guitarist, so they had always been playing with each other," said Saab. Saab said he classifies Alright Alright's music as rock `n' roll. "Our main influences are people like The Clash, The Beatles and Buddy Holly," he said. "At the end of the day, we like to think we are a rock `n' roll band. I think we offer something a bit more unique. Mainly what we listen to is older music, so it kind of rubs off on our sound." The band has already enjoyed success. It has opened for many established acts, such as Dala, Hello Beautiful, Ronnie Hawkins, as well as headlined a sold-out show at The Edge studios in Toronto. The group recently released a four-song demo disc at a concert at the Rivoli in Toronto. A full-length album is a long-term goal for the group. "The plan right now is to release some demos first to get our name out there," he said. See Band page 35