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Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands

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The FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands is an annual national music competition, started in 2001, for amateur company bands and musicians. It is sponsored by FORTUNE Magazine, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, OH, and The International Music Products Association. Current corporate sponsors include Gibson Guitar Corporation, Air Products & Chemicals, KeyBank, Lava World International, and the Ohio Business Development Coalition.

The competition is a “celebration of musicians with day jobs”. It is required that all participants must be amateur musicians, and at least 50% of the band’s members must work for the same company.

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[edit] * Contest purpose and format

The Battle of the Corporate Bands was created in a joint effort by FORTUNE Magazine and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, to help corporate marketers connect with a business audience and to enhance the Museum’s profile in the business community. The two executives most responsible for its creation were Kip Meyer, Director of Integrated Programs for FORTUNE and FORTUNE Small Business magazines, and Steve Dobo, Director of Sponsorships and Promotions at the Rock Hall of Fame.

The competition essentially serves two purposes. First, it enhances FORTUNE’s profile in the business community, by bringing business executives and representatives together in a fun, non-traditional setting (in addition to music activities during the competition weekend, FORTUNE also sponsors several business networking events). Second, the Battle of the Corporate Bands serves as a fund-raiser for the Museum’s Educational Fund. In the 2006 contest, entrants must pay $200 for their initial CD submission; finalists must pay $7,300 to take part in the Cleveland battle. The Museum also collects fees from ticket sales to the competition. Since 2001, more than $500,000 has been raised for these educational programs, with the most recent contest raking in nearly $150,000.

The entry process begins in the springtime, when bands submit a three-song CD to a panel of judges. From 2001 to 2003, this panel selected the eight national finalists. However, in 2004, a new format was unveiled. From the CD submissions, the selection panel now chooses about eighteen bands to participate in one of three qualifying regional “Battles” held in the summertime in New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville, TN. Two national finalists are selected from each of the regional contests, along with one “wild card” band. In 2004, Telstra, an Australian telecommunications and information services company, began sponsoring their national competition, the Telstra Corporate Battle of the Bands. The winner of the Australian “battle” automatically receives the eighth and final spot in the U.S. national competition. (In 2006, two wild card bands were chosen from the regional contests, increasing the number of finalists to nine).

On the day of the finals, held in Cleveland in October, each band will perform a 40-minute showcase for the public during the day on the main stage of the Rock Hall of Fame. That evening, each will play a 15-minute set for a panel of select business and music industry judges during the “Battle VIP Party”. The judges will then select a winner, dubbed “The Best Corporate Band in America” for that year, along with 2nd and 3rd place winners. Awards are also given to individuals for Best Guitarist, Best Bass Player, Best Keyboardist, Best Vocalist, Best Horn and Best Drummer. In 2006, a "Fan's Choice Award" was added to the competition, with a website sponsored by Chrysler where fans could listen to a recording from each band and vote for their favorite.

Members of the winning band receive varsity jackets from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, embroidered with their names, and Gibson Headstock trophies. (The 2nd and 3rd place bands also receive the jackets). The victorious band will have its name and picture prominently featured at the Rock Hall of Fame for one year, as part of a permanent exhibit honoring the event. Also, the victors will be invited back to the Rock Hall of Fame for the following year’s competition, to play the headlining gig at that year’s “Battle VIP Party”. The winner of “Best Guitarist” receives a Gibson Custom Les Paul electric guitar.

The first Battle featured a total of ten entries. In 2006, due to increasing interest and coverage from national media, more than 40 bands from across the nation, representing myriad industries, submitted audition discs.

[edit] • 1st competition (October 6th, 2001)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: The Difference (Air Products & Chemicals)
      • 2nd Place: The Briggs Bluesbusters (Briggs & Stratton Corp.)
    • Best Guitarist: John Rachkoskie, Enterasys

[edit] • 2nd competition (October 5th, 2002)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: The Raving Daves (PeopleSoft)
      • 2nd Place: The Briggs Bluesbusters (Briggs & Stratton Corp.)
      • 3rd Place:
    • Best Guitarist: Ira Stanley, The MCSI Band
    • Best Bass Player: Vince Orange, Parts Rock And Accessories Roll

[edit] • 3rd competition (October 18th, 2003)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: The Residuals (Fleet Capital Leasing)
      • 2nd Place: chaingarden (Discreet Logic, Inc.)
      • 3rd Place: The Briggs Bluesbusters (Briggs & Stratton Corp.)

[edit] • 4th competition (October 2nd, 2004)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: Negative Feedback (eBay)
      • 2nd Place: Center Stage (Wells Fargo Co.)
      • 3rd Place: Direct Connectors (Nextel)
    • Best Guitarist: Mark Rongers, OVP
    • Best Bass Player: Mark Holderness, eBay
    • Best Keyboards: Jerry Gray, Wells Fargo
    • Best Drummer: Mike Dorshak, Wells Fargo
    • Best Vocals: Shane McLaughlin, Nextel

[edit] • 5th competition (October 8th, 2005)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: PANTS! (McKinney)
      • 2nd Place: The Loaners (Quicken Loans)
      • 3rd Place: Spurious Freedom (Texas Instruments)
      • Best Guitar: Brian Stapp (Quicken Loans)
      • Best Drummer: Tony Zizzo (Texas Instruments)
      • Best Keyboards: Chris Longton (Renal Care Group)
      • Best Bass: Wes Whitener (McKinney)
      • Best Horn: Gene Meros (Nextel)
      • Best Vocals: Thomas Armendarez (Texas Instruments)

[edit] • 6th competition (October 7th, 2006)

  • Winners:
    • Best Band: Suit Tie Hi-Fi (Cambridge Australia)
      • 2nd Place: SUGI Band (SAS Institute)
      • 3rd Place: Soul Focus (American Century Investments)
      • Chrysler Fan's Choice Award: Soul Focus (American Century Investments)
      • Best Vocalist: Mark Potter (Cambridge Australia)
      • Best Guitarist: Dana Rafiee (SAS Institute)
      • Best Drummer: Al Mannarino (SAS Institute)
      • Best Bassist: David Leoncavalo (DW Drums)
      • Best Keyboardist: Joe Dingwerth (American Century Investments)
      • Best Horn Player: Adam Adelkopf (Deloitte)

[edit] Trivia

One of the bands performing in the 2002 competition was HealthSouth’s "Proxy", whose members included CEO Richard Scrushy on guitar, CIO Ken Livesay on guitar, and CFO Bill Owens on drums. The following year, all three were indicted on federal charges of wire and securites fraud related to a major accounting scandal at HealthSouth. Livesay and Owens pled guilty and later testified against Scrushy. Scrushy was acquitted on these charges, but was later convicted of bribery.

[edit] External links

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