Nerd rockers Kirby Krackle win the top prize at SIC's Battle of the Geek Bands

They sang about Facebook, math and comic books. And one dude even busted out the geekiest instrument of all time, the flute. (OK, maybe second only to the harp).

Welcome to the Battle of the Geek Bands, held last night at the Showbox Sodo to kick off the inaugural Seattle Interactive Conference.

I had a blast judging the five bands, including wild card entry Afraid of Figs which won an online poll on GeekWire in order to advance into the competition.

I’ve got zero musical talent myself. So, why was I wedged between Sir Mix-a-Lot and Jason Finn of The Presidents of the United States of America judging these performances?

I was there to evaluate stage performance and overall “geek cred.” And the bands did not disappoint, though Mix and I certainly were craving a Devo cover. At the end of the night, there was one clear winner: Kirby Krackle.

The self-described nerd rockers from Seattle, fresh off the Comicon concert circuit, blew the doors off the place and hoisted the gold Space Needle trophy.

Led by Kyle Stevens and Jim Demonakos, Kirby Krackle are true champions of the growing “geek rock scene.”

“Geek rock is all about making songs about our passion,” said Demonakos, who founded Emerald City Comicon. Here’s my post-concert interview with the nerd rockers:

Battle of The Geek Bands – Kirby Krackle Interview from Red Russak on Vimeo.


The Battle of the Geek Bands also featured a set by Seattle rockers The Presidents of the United States of America who concluded their show by inviting the crowd onto the stage. The conference officially starts today.

GeekWire, a media sponsor of SIC, will be covering various aspects of the conference over the next two days.

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