The Warhol Crowd bounced onto the stage in the early evening, the ninth in a series of youth bands to perform that autumn day. Exhibiting a degree of sophistication that was completely unexpected, guitarist and lead vocalist Dan Htoo-Levine, percussionist/vocalist Joe Fusca, bassist Brian Lindsay, and sax player Dan Cohen unfurled several groovy, jazzy, Dave Matthews-esque rock numbers, securing for themselves the "grand prize" award of the night. This wasn't your typical high school battle of the bands, however. It was the first annual Garage Rumble, which took place last November at Woodstock's Joyous Lake.

The Chills

Local musician Kristen Garnier is the architect behind this new project, which was born from a love of her own experiences as a youth. She reminisces about the wonderful times she had as a teenager playing music, recalling many, many opportunities to perform. "There was always a place to play," she begins. "You could just throw together a band or put together a performance with other bands. That experience was so valuable." Today the mother of a teenage son, Clark, Garnier has worked with the Woodstock Youth Theater and has met a lot of the kids in the area. When she heard of a battle of the bands at Onteora High School a few years back, she was excited to see the youth perform. "I was so impressed by these kids. But I also noticed that they really don't get to play out. They don't have anywhere to express their creativity, except for this one event. I checked with all the 12 or 15 high schools in Ulster County and nobody was doing a battle of the bands except Onteora. That was the one thing that was cool when I was a kid in high school. At least the school would have a battle of the bands. You knew who the rock stars were, and the folkies. There was a musical community."

Mango

Due to this dearth of musical outlets for teens in the area, Garnier felt compelled to take action. Garage Rumble was born in 2004, and she made sure it was done right. The idea was to put youth in a very professional venue so they could have the full experience, with good lighting and sound. As the project grew, Chris Andersen of Nevessa Production agreed to help with sound and also provided a professional stage manager for the bands. Garnier was ecstatic to have such a high degree of professionalism for a youth event. But it was difficult to find the right space, as funds were lacking. "I did it with a song and a prayer. My parents really helped me out. I have to honor them because they're not wealthy people. They've worked hard all their lives. But they knew how important it was for me to launch this, to help me fulfill a dream for these kids, something that I feel is really useful and important."

Though Garnier did most of the legwork on her own, she had the help of many volunteers, people such as Baker Rorick of the band Comfy Chair, who also writes for trade magazines and who helped provide sponsorship. "It gives credibility and I have to thank Baker for that. Bill Magill launched the website, and he did it graciously, from his heart. Now Chris Andersen is helping me take over the website. And I can't thank my son enough for being in my life. If I didn't have a kid who was constantly leading me back in the direction of being a teenager...he keeps me fresh, keeps me alive and remembering what everything's all about."

The Warhol Crowd

Garnier had considered the large space at Backstage Studio Productions in Kingston but had a nagging feeling that the event should take place in Woodstock. "Having been a musician myself and living here almost 11 years now, [the lack of a music scene] has really been sad for me. It's heartbreaking. I have this thing about Woodstock. I really respect and appreciate all the people here who have made this place a name in the past. But I think it's time to make a switch now. It's time for people to realize that Woodstock is a great community for arts and music, and we need to start freshening up that image. When we look into what's going on with the youth and music, we find that it's pretty exciting. They're definitely worth the professional adults' time around here. It's time to give a facelift to Woodstock musically."

To submit to the 2005 Garage Rumble, each band was required to have at least one member from Ulster County and range in age from 13 to 19. There were a few exceptions. The Chills, runners-up from Marlboro Elementary and High School, had one 10- and one 12-year-old. SUNY Ulster's Tragic Miracle had one 20-year-old, and another member that turned 20 between submission and the actual event. Initially, a small private panel judged 16 audition tapes and 9 bands were selected for competition. Other finalists include Patch Road from Saugerties High School and Columbia-Greene Community College, The Hottness from Kingston and Onteora High Schools, and Preferably Tapioca from Rondout Valley High School in Accord. The event was filmed by Ed Medina of MedinaWorks, and will be edited for viewing at film festivals and possibly for wider distribution.

The judges panel for the final event is also highly impressive—Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton, international jazz vocalist Cassandra Wilson, Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer, High Times rock critic and promoter Stacy Fine, and percussionist/producer Harvey Sorgen of Hot Tuna fame.

Garage Rumble founder Kristen Garnier

Bands were judged according to musicianship, songwriting and arrangement, originality, stage performance and charisma, professionalism, and appearance. Playing both covers and original material, the nine competing bands were asked to provide 15 minutes of music for the judges, and genres touched upon indie, punk, power pop, raw rock, rock-meets-classical, and the jazz-rock stylings of winners The Warhol Crowd. The Warhols were awarded a day in the recording studio at Nevessa Production and a state-of-the-art demo, an opportunity to be the opening band for a national or regional group at Joyous Lake, and a Q&A phone conference with producer Jim Wirt, who has worked with Alien Ant Farm, Live, Hoobastank, and Incubus.

"I can definitely see them playing at the college level," says Garnier, "then moving onto the indie level. They're not that different from what we're hearing on 'DST, that level. I felt like a mom when they came out of the studio, I was so proud." Because of her recent experiences and her passion for encouraging and inspiring youth in rock, Garnier, through her own Gleaming Iris Productions, is referring to herself now as a rock coach. "I like guiding and working with kids, maybe pulling out a better performance here or there, helping them work on stage charisma."

Though Garage Rumble is technically a contest, Garnier says it's really not about competition at all. "The thing that was nice about the day is that I don't think any of the kids felt like they were competing. Everyone was elated because it was just so fun. Another beautiful thing about this is that all the families seemed very supportive about their kids being in music, and very appreciative. I can't tell you all the letters I got from the parents after the event. There was a recognition that there really is a need for this sort of thing for young people."

The second annual Garage Rumble will take place in the fall, but smaller showcases will begin in March. Volunteer support has been overwhelming. "People in the community want to give back," Garnier says. "They've been doing music for a long time, either as musicians, writers, producers, promoters, managers, throughout the whole business. That way we get to involve more bands, get them out there in front of these professionals to be honored and guided."

Interested bands can check out submission guidelines on the website, and soon there will be information on how to become a panelist or a sponsor. To hear an MP3 of The Warhol Crowd and for more information on upcoming events, visit www.garagerumble.com.