From St. Jude:
The Mighty Electric St. Jude Band has been selected to compete in the 2009 FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands July 18 in Nashville. The band is composed almost entirely of employees from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital® and ALSAC, the hospital’s fundraising organization.
Thirty-six amateur employee-based bands from companies across the United States submitted entry demos to earn one of 16 invitations to the regional competitions, which will be held in Nashville and Los Angeles. In Nashville, the St. Jude Band will take the stage in a battle of rock supremacy against groups representing Chevron, Gaylord Opryland, The Ladders, Johnson & Johnson, Healthways, Calzone and Enernoc.
“It is an honor to be selected,” said Brent Royer, director of creative media services at ALSAC and founding member of the band. “Our hard work has paid off and we couldn’t have done it without the continued support of ALSAC and St. Jude. We are encouraged every day to keep ‘Rockin’ for a Reason’ – to help the children and families at St. Jude.”
The St. Jude Band performs as volunteers and all proceeds benefit St. Jude. It has played covers ranging from R&B to rock to country at dozens of events and parties since forming in 2002.
The top four bands from the Nashville round will challenge the top four from Los Angeles and one band from Europe in October at the Battle of the Corporate Bands finals at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The gala event is a fundraiser for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which supports music education programs in public schools.
In addition to being crowned the 2009 Battle of the Bands Champion, the winner will be invited to attend the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Members of the St. Jude Band are:
Mark Carrig – St. Jude Information Sciences
Brent Chalker – St. Jude Volunteer
Bruce Hall – St. Jude Facilities Operations
Shawn Kelly – ALSAC Communications
Brent Royer – ALSAC Communications
Eric Schiavone – ALSAC Communications
Holly Thompson – ALSAC Sports Marketing
The FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands will be held July 18 on the NAMM Summer Session Stage at the Renaissance Hotel and Nashville Convention Center (611 Commerce St.).
Visit www.stjudeband.org to download free admission passes for the event, which is open to the public. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the St. Jude Band will take the stage at 8:30 p.m.
Updates about the band and its schedule are available on www.stjudeband.org, or join the St. Jude Band group on Facebook.
