A local band struck the right chord to advance in a southern Alberta rock music competition.
Ruined Escape Plan is now one step closer to rocking out in a live gig in Calgary after being shortlisted as one of the Top 10 contenders in the CBC Radio One Rock the Homestretch contest.
“We’re just kind of excited to have made it this far,” said Adam Creurer, who at 19 is the oldest member of the band
“If anything else, it’s got us going. I don’t think any of us thought we’d be able to write and record a song in one week. We were all pretty amazed. We put a lot of time into it.”
Ruined Escape Plan features Creurer on bass, Kyle Hansen on lead guitar, vocalist Maria Pelletier, Reid LeClair on rhythm guitar and Danial Devost on drums.
All of the members are either current students at or have graduated from Notre Dame High School.
The five-some has been playing their “female-fronted emo power metal rock” music, as Creurer described it, for nearly two years.
The group saw a newspaper ad promoting the CBC contest, which is searching for the best teenage rock band in southern Alberta, and quickly decided to enter, Creurer said.
By that time, however, there was only a week left to produce their entry as the contest rules stipulated all songs must be original.
Burning the midnight oil, the band was able to write and record a new song in time to meet the May 14 deadline.
Their song, From the Ashes, hit the airways Wednesday shortly after 5:30 p.m. on CBC One, which can be heard on 102.5 FM in Red Deer.
It was the first time the band had one of their songs played on the radio.
“It was really cool,” Creurer said. “We were all just really excited that we got a song kind of out there.”
The 10 finalists are now battling it out as the three bands that earn the most votes will perform live at the Plaza Theatre in Calgary June 4.
Creurer said the group has started an “extensive Facebook networking” campaign to generate as many votes as possible before the May 30 deadline.
He said they’re optimistic that they’ll make it to the Calgary stage for the Rock the Homestretch Finale show that will be broadcast live between 3 and 6 p.m. on CBC Radio One.
Judges will offer feedback to the three bands at the finale before selecting the winner.
The grand prize package includes a session to record the single at The Beach Music studio in Calgary, being featured nationally on CBC Radio 3, the opportunity to perform at the Sled Island music festival in Calgary, a photo shoot with a professional photographer and to have an online music video produced by Welcome to the West.
Go to http://www.cbc.ca/homestretch/rockhs-vote.html to listen to all 10 songs and to vote.
ptrotter@www.reddeeradvocate.com