Local students prepare for battle at the finals

A local band, ‘Eleven Letters Long,? competed in the Battle of the Bands, and made finals.
The well-known ensemble recently combined their talents to participate in ‘The Detroit News? Battle of the Bands.
‘Eleven Letters Long? has been together as a group for about five months. They play classic rock and roll, and have performed at the Clarkston Chamber’s Concerts in the Park as well as Taste of Clarkston.
The group is composed of: Brian Shepanek on lead guitar, Jon Brown on drums, Brandon Boozer on vocals and rhythm guitar; Alex John on vocals and percussion, Greg Davis on keyboards and vocals, and Brennan Haase on bass.
When the boys heard about the contest, they worked fast.
‘My dad told me about the contest,? said Shepanek. ‘Quickly after, we scrambled.?
The main requirment of the contest was submitting a tape or disc of one to three songs. There was one problem ? the boys didn’t have any tracks recorded. Quick as possibly, the boys recorded five original tracks for the March 4 deadline.
All the hard work resulted in ‘Eleven Letters Long? as one of ten bands to make finals. Now, the group must prepare for the next level of competition on March 19. The band will step on stage at the State Theater and play a ten-minute set of original material for a panel of judges.
‘We are very excited and honored at the chance to play at the State Theater,? said Shepanek. ‘The professional sound mixing equipment, the lights and the people will be very exciting.?
Winners receive prizes including: gear from www.themusicedge.com, 1,000 custom CD’s from Disc Makers, Brian Moore iGuitar, a free entry into the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, professional audio and video recording session on board the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, and a spot to play on Fox 2.
‘Eleven Letters Long’said they want to have a great time and hope everyone will come down to watch. The final competition for ‘The Detroit News? Battle of the Bands is at the State Theater on March 19 at 2:30 p.m.