2008 Woodie Awards
Three ex-producers, one rapper serve genre-transcending beats
KATIE ANDREW
Issue date: 10/9/08 Section: Out & About
It's hard to find anything surprising in the local music scene these days, but there's nothing about Grand Prize Winners From Last Year that doesn't shock.
Where: Caledonia Lounge
Cost: $3 (21+), $4 (18-20)
More Information:
www.caledonia.com
As lead guitarist Believe said, "We're like The Beatles, but blacker."
Grand Prize, whose members prefer to go by their stage names, has laughed in the faces of obstacles since the group came together. For that, many fans can't help but respect the band.
"We all picked up instruments about a year ago and just became a band overnight," Believe said. "Before, I was a rapper and the other three guys were producers. None of us had ever played our instruments before or been in a band, so it was all new to everybody."
Within a few weeks, the band was already playing shows.
Clearly, these guys are not scared of being booed off a stage.
"We would do three or four shows a week when we first started," Believe said. "We had to get good fast. For the first four or five months, we had a weekly gig and there was never anybody there."
However, the band is doing a little better these days.
Besides the members' uncanny ability to learn musical instruments within a month, the only thing more intriguing about Grand Prize is the music it produces.
Every band in the world will talk about how unique it is to anyone willing to listen, but Grand Prize delivers a cornucopia of fun and bouncy, yet slightly edgy tunes with a little bit of this and that.
"We sound different because [our audience] isn't expecting to hear what they get," said keyboardist, synthesizer and trombone player Platipus Jones.
"They see our picture and automatically think that we're going to rhyme, but every song goes in every genre, from hip hop to rock to alternative to pop ... You might even hear a little bit of blues in there."
GRAND PRIZE WINNERS FROM LAST YEAR
When: 8 tonightWhere: Caledonia Lounge
Cost: $3 (21+), $4 (18-20)
More Information:
www.caledonia.com
As lead guitarist Believe said, "We're like The Beatles, but blacker."
Grand Prize, whose members prefer to go by their stage names, has laughed in the faces of obstacles since the group came together. For that, many fans can't help but respect the band.
"We all picked up instruments about a year ago and just became a band overnight," Believe said. "Before, I was a rapper and the other three guys were producers. None of us had ever played our instruments before or been in a band, so it was all new to everybody."
Within a few weeks, the band was already playing shows.
Clearly, these guys are not scared of being booed off a stage.
"We would do three or four shows a week when we first started," Believe said. "We had to get good fast. For the first four or five months, we had a weekly gig and there was never anybody there."
However, the band is doing a little better these days.
Besides the members' uncanny ability to learn musical instruments within a month, the only thing more intriguing about Grand Prize is the music it produces.
Every band in the world will talk about how unique it is to anyone willing to listen, but Grand Prize delivers a cornucopia of fun and bouncy, yet slightly edgy tunes with a little bit of this and that.
"We sound different because [our audience] isn't expecting to hear what they get," said keyboardist, synthesizer and trombone player Platipus Jones.
"They see our picture and automatically think that we're going to rhyme, but every song goes in every genre, from hip hop to rock to alternative to pop ... You might even hear a little bit of blues in there."
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