Band wins 'Race' to Best of Bloomington

After being together as a band for not even a year-and--a-half, East Race tallied enough of the popular vote to be crowned best original band in Bloomington. Not a bad day's work for a group that plays its own music trying to make it in a town that can't seem to get enough of the cover bands. Next month the band will be taking its show outside state lines to the likes of Chicago and later to Carbon and Denver in Colorado. \nNick Schmidt (drums), Roger Harmon (guitar), Kevin Pulaski (bass) and Chris Hickey (keys) know the difficult road they are traveling, but they are dedicated to their music nonetheless. \n"It's not easy to be an original band in Bloomington and make it in the bar scene," said Schmidt, who has been playing percussion since the age of ten. "So many people want to hear what they know and what they can relate to, and many don't want to go out and take a chance on hearing something they know nothing about."\nThis statement couldn't be truer. Whereas cover bands that play strictly Pearl Jam and Dave Matthews songs seem to rotate slots weekly at the local bars, original bands are shoved into the background of the Bloomington scene. It can be difficult for bands to try and establish a music scene here when groups like Hairbanger's Ball attract a larger audience than local acts like East Race, the Swell and Percival Potts, to name a few. \n"Cover bands, cover bands, cover bands. They dominate the scene here," Pulaski said. "People need to learn to support and celebrate local music. There is potential to have a scene here that could be comparable to Nashville or Seattle." \nBut there are some music enthusiasts in Bloomington who do prefer the local scene to any top 40 cover band. \n"I know people like to get all drunk and sing 'Ice Ice Baby' and 'I Like Big Butts,' but you gotta respect a band that's out there making it on their terms with their own music," said senior Troy Thompson, a local music aficianado. "There are some damn good original bands in this town worth checking out."\nEach musician in East Race has been playing their respective instrument since childhood, making them very well-versed at what they do. Combined, the four become a powerhouse of talent that plays an amalgam of musical styles ranging from funk to classic rock and everywhere in between -- and then they will follow those up with a straight up heavy jam. The band can play with such diversity thanks to the wide variety of musical influences each member has, and they all try to listen to each other's music. \n"As a band, we try and listen to everything that each member is listening to at the time, present or passing phases," said Schmidt. "Within the group there is a great presence of Beatle intrigue along with many other bands. This year I have listened to a lot of Elliott Smith and Polyphonic Spree. For me it's not one band, it's the experience of music and my surroundings that has brought me to the state I am at right now."\nEast Race has been working on its debut album for a couple months now, and the band plans on releasing the new material by the end of the year. MP3s are available on the band Web site www.eastrace.com. \nThe second place band in this year's Best of Bloomington, The Swell, also just released its debut album Love Grenade. The third place band was Code Blue.\n"These bands are really talented and really fun to watch," said Thompson. "It was a complete toss-up for which band was going to win this year." \nWhile East Race and the Swell have been getting slightly more notice recently, there are still many original bands out there trying to be heard. \n"There are several talented bands in the Bloomington scene," said Schmidt. "The Driving Force, Muzaic, Old Gill, Percival Potts, the list goes on. With every band in the scene right now, no matter the style or where you play, as long as it's original, there is respect paid. It's not easy to be an original band in Bloomington."\nWhile the band members are thankful for the recognition of their musical originality, they know there is still much more work to be done. \n"There's been talk of moving and taking this to the next level, but anything can happen," said Schmidt. "Thank you to everyone that is helping original music stay afloat in Bloomington. Try and support all styles and forms of it"