Annual contest at SBHS benefits Community Pantry
In its sixth year, the San Benito High School’s Songwriters
Slugfest put on by the Rock Guitar Club on Saturday has grown to an
event that not only promotes teenagers to play live music, but also
can help them record their first piece of music.
For the first time, the grand prize for the winner is a
three-song demo in a professional studio.
”
To me as a teacher
– it’s a big opportunity,
”
said Tom Rooth, Rock Guitar Club adviser and San Benito
teacher.
Annual contest at SBHS benefits Community Pantry
In its sixth year, the San Benito High School’s Songwriters Slugfest put on by the Rock Guitar Club on Saturday has grown to an event that not only promotes teenagers to play live music, but also can help them record their first piece of music.
For the first time, the grand prize for the winner is a three-song demo in a professional studio.
“To me as a teacher – it’s a big opportunity,” said Tom Rooth, Rock Guitar Club adviser and San Benito teacher.
The event at San Benito High School will gather six to seven bands, some of which are playing in front of a crowd for the first time and will play in 30-minute blocks.
But that’s part of the learning experience, Rooth said.
“A lot of them have never done it before, so they will be nervous,” he said. “But they will only get better.”
The Rock Guitar Club will donate all proceeds after expenses to the Community Pantry, which asked for help.
“Hopefully, we have enough ticket sales so we give them enough money back,” Rooth added.
And the musicians that get the most comfortable will have an opportunity to have their music recorded by Tool Shed Studio, Rooth said.
Owners of Tool Shed Studio in Gilroy opened their doors to the event because 18 years ago they were the ones on the San Benito High School stage.
Forest Wilson and Brian Gibbs, members of the class of 1992, thought it was their duty to give back to the place where they grew up, they said.
Wilson, of Hollister, and Gibbs, of Gilroy, are graduates of the Berklee School of Music in Boston and when they returned to the area during the last 10 years, a top priority was creating a studio.
“We thought when we got back we wanted to open a studio as close to Hollister as we could,” Wilson said.
Wilson remembered having to go to San Jose to record in a studio and he wanted to bring that experience closer to his hometown.
“We thought how cool would it be to have a studio so close to Hollister,” he said.
Wilson moved back to the area in the early 2000s and when Gibbs came back in 2005, they searched for the right home that would be the best fit for them to record.
The main band room is in a traditional family room with the walls lined in dark, wooden panels. The wood floor and walls help trap sounds during a recording. The studio has over 70 microphones, a small soundboard and an analog/digital converter.
“We have everything anyone would need to record,” Gibbs said.
The fully-established studio opened last fall, and already they have recorded seven bands of different types of music, ranging from jazz to metal rock.
The most important thing for Gibbs and Wilson is to allow those that don’t have the opportunity to record to have that chance and to teach young musicians how to record.
“We want them to know that you need to be ready when you come in,” Gibbs said. “A lot of bands come in here not ready to record and it’s their time they are wasting. It’s a learning experience for them.”
And the Tool Shed Studio involvement with the concert will allow them to do just that.
Besides giving young musicians a chance to record, the event also expects to give money back to the community, Rooth said.
Tickets will be on sale at Pat’s Place downtown and the San Benito High Payment Center, Rooth said. Tickets are $5 presale and $7 at the door. The event will take place from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on May 22 at the school.
Songwriters Slugfest
6 p.m to 10 p.m. Saturday May 22
$5 presale
$7 at the door
tickets available at the high school payment center and Pat’s Place in downtown Hollister
Bands registered
EZ Company
Inevitably Spicy
Burned on the Stake
Tragic Comeback
Max Crist
Fugu
Tool Shed Studio
http://www.toolshedstudio.com
