CU band makes top 50 but ends its luck there
This spring mtvU partnered with Epic Records to create the first annual mtvU “Best Music on Campus Artist of the Year” award. This contest revolves around mtvU’s ongoing mission to provide an outlet for college students to express themselves artistically.
The 50 finalists for “Best Music on Campus Artist of the Year” were selected from a pool of former “BMOC” artists of the week and various other bands that caught the eye of mtvU and Epic Records. These artists are the cream of unsigned college bands. The eclectic group includes rockers, hip-hop heads and songstresses.
Local band UpRoot represents CU in the top-50 and is comprised of Jesse Gawlik, a junior marketing major, Peter Eichar, a sophomore history major, Evan Urman, a graduated film major and Brendan Egan, a senior marketing major.
The voting has concluded for the round of 50 and the 15 semi-finalists were announced on Friday. Unfortunately, UpRoot’s run in the contest was cut short, as they weren’t able to receive enough votes to move on to the next round.
UpRoot has played both the Fox Theatre and the Boulder Theater, coming a long way since forming the band in 2005. It’s quite an honor for them to be included as one of the top-50 college acts in the country and it should expose the amount of artistic talent here at CU.
These four guys have amassed a loyal fan base in Boulder, playing shows at frat-houses and local restaurants, including The Sink. They find inspiration in reggae, rock, jazz and hip-hop.
“This contest is about us listening,” Rzepka said. “It’s largely the college audience that propels these acts forward, I mean Fall Out Boy, Matisyahu, Death Cab For Cutie and the Killers were all recognized by the college audience first and now they’re famous.”
The semi-final round voting will last from April 6-27. The top-five artists will then be revealed April 30, with the final round voting lasting until May 4.
The final five are deliberated on by executives from mtvU and Epic and the winner gets announced in a live performance on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” May 14.
The winners will receive a $1.5 million recording contract with Epic Records. The winning act also gets a “$50,000 cash advance, plus full retail, radio, tour, marketing and grass roots support when the album is release,” according to the mtvU press release. Their journey will also be documented and showcased in on original series premiering on mtvU this summer.
“We’ve recently been working with Epitaph Records and Def Jux records, giving college students recording contracts,” Rzepka said. “There’s lots of interest from the record companies because college students are the center of music right now. We like to use the farm system analogy- BCOM is a place for small time acts to have the opportunity to get to the big leagues.”
For more information about “Best Music on Campus Artist of the Year” or to cast your votes, check out their Web site.
Contact Campus Press staff writer Quincy Moore at quincy.moore@thecampuspress.com.
