The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

3 · OAKVILLE BEAVER Saturday, March 21, 2009 Alright Alright, Oakville band advances in contest By Tina Depko OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Five Oakville bands duked it out in the first round of Metroland's Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition, with Alright Alright coming out on top. The local band received the most online votes and will move onto next week's championship round, where it will take on the winners from Milton and Burlington. Omar Saab, vocalist and guitarist with Alright Alright said the band was overjoyed with the victory. "It's quite a thrill," he said. "We had entered it knowing there is a lot of talent in Oakville, but it was through networking and fantastic support that we won, so we really owe it all to them." Alright Alright was up against Everywhere, The Orange Freestate, Icarus, and Fries With That. Saab said he checked out the videos posted by the other groups and was impressed by what he saw. "It just shows there is quite a lot of talent in the area and we knew it was going to be a stiff competition after listening to the other bands," he said. "It is something for our area to really be proud of." 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 their own sold-out show at The Edge studios in Toronto. The group released a four-song demo "We're just hoping for the best and we wish nothing but the best of luck to the other bands." Omar Saab Lead singer for Alright Alright SUBMITTED PHOTO EYE ON THE PRIZE: Alright Alright are the Oakville champs for Metroland's Best of the West Battle of the Bands competition, but they need readers' votes to beat out the top Milton and Burlington bands and take home the top prize. The Oakville musicians are appealing for readers' votes, including, left to right, Curtis Courtemanche, Dave McCamus, Omar Saab and Graeme Moffatt. disc Friday night at a concert at the Rivoli in Toronto. A full-length album is a longterm goal for the group. "The plan right now is to release some demos first to get our name out there," Saab said. The group performs a lot of original material. Most of the songs are written by Saab and Moffatt, who was the musical genius behind Girl, the winning entry for this competition. "The bass player and I are the main writers, but everyone in the band puts in their parts because they are all talented in what they do and we all bring something to the table," said Saab. "The best part is that the songs keep coming. We write about what we know, about being young and the things that happen. We write about reallife experiences because we know people can relate to that." The four guys still call Oakville home, although Courtemanche is temporarily away at school in Guelph. They are all pursuing post-secondary education, with Saab working on a general arts degree at the University of Toronto, Moffatt and McCamus studying music and Courtemanche taking a degree in hotel administration. Despite going to school and working, the four guys are devoted to Alright Alright. Right now, they are performing gigs about once a week. During the summer, they expect to be playing at least two to three shows a week. "You have to pay for the gas and recording costs, so we all have jobs, but music is a priority," Saab said. "It is sometimes hard getting everyone together to practice, but we still manage to make it work. It is kind of like a long-distance relationship. This is something we are all committed to. It would be ideal if we could continue to do this for the rest of our lives." Saab said making good music is the main objective of the band. "The vision is to get our music out there and for as many people to enjoy it as possible," he said. "And for us to continue to love what we are doing." The group is managed by Saab's brother, Ayman, who jokingly agreed he deserves a raise after not only being the person who found out about Metroland's Best of the West competition, but also for helping organize the entry and press information. If you want Oakville band Alright Alright to beat out Burlington's We Are Bravest and Milton's No Reason to Stay, make your vote count by going online to www.oakvillebeaver.com and click on the Metroland's Best of the West link under the features heading. Voting starts on Monday, March 23 and will close on Sunday, March 29. The winner will be announced the following week. "We're asking Oakville for their votes," Saab said. "We're just hoping for the best and we wish nothing but the best of luck to the other bands." The winning band will be featured in the Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Flamborough newspapers, and will have the opportunity to play at the renowned Burlington Sound of Music Festival this summer. "The Sound of Music Festival is a fun event and we've attended it many times, so it would be amazing to play it," Saab said. "It would be a great opportunity." SHUTTERS Shop at Home Service CALIFORNIA & PLANTATION FREE SHUTTERS ETC.