Ok, folks, just two days until we start rocking the Showbox Sodo.
Our big “Battle of the Geek Bands and Costume Contest” — taking place immediately after Startup Day this Friday at 5 p.m. — will showcase four hot up-and-coming bands from Seattle’s tech community. Tickets and details here.
We’re looking to pick the city’s top geek rockers. And we’ve assembled an all-star cast of judges to help us choose the winning band.
These judges will offer raw feedback — American Idol style — in a quest to identify the top musicians from the geek ranks.
Our illustrious panel includes KEXP DJs Morgan Chosnyk and Larry Rose, as well as KEXP marketing director Rob Knop, a former member of Seattle indie rock band Harvey Danger. Rose, a Seattle native and host of Larry’s Lounge, is a software engineer who built the original KEXP real-time playlists in 2001.
We’re also excited to have the amazingly talented Jason Dodson, lead singer of The Maldives, an awesome Seattle band which is known for its “intoxicating songwriting” and “catchy choruses.”
And, finally, we’ve got Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and legendary DJ Marco Collins, the former music director for “The End” during Seattle’s grunge era who was later instrumental in launching artists such as Beck, Weezer, The Presidents of the USA and Foo Fighters.
Now, these judges have the tough task of choosing their favorite on Friday, awarding the top bands suite tickets to an upcoming Seahawks game and the TransSiberian Orchestra concert. Who do you think it will be?
Come on out and party with us this Friday, and don’t forget to come in costume, concluding a festive Seattle Startup Week. Tickets are just $5, so make sure to to sign up today!
Here are the bands:
“The Tax Authorities” from Avalara
Thys Wallwork, manager and lead guitar of The Tax Authorities: “We’ve audited all of the other bands and, guess what, they owe penalties and interest. The Tax Authorities are coming and no one is exempt from our groove.”
“Double Down” from Double Down Interactive
Band quote: “One of the great things about Seattle’s culture is that everyone has their career which they’re extremely passionate about. But then they also have their ‘other’ thing they do that brings them joy, whether they’re an artist, musician, dancer, fire juggler, etc. DoubleDown is very grateful and excited for the opportunity to play the GeekWire Battle of the Bands.”
“The Packet Droppings” from ExtraHop
Band quote: “(We are) primed and ready to rock your bits off!”
“Severity 2” from Amazon.com
Amazon is in the house, and they’re bringing some software engineering firepower with Severity 2 (aka Sev-2). Band members include Stephen Rosenthal (Electric Guitar); Preston Tamkin (Keyboard); David Dai (Lead Vocalist and Acoustic Guitar); Dimitri Mostinski (Drums); and Steven Beach (Bass). “We’re a bunch of techies who enjoy playing music together and becoming better through practice while having fun,” says Beach.
A big thanks to our sponsors for helping to make the Battle of the Geek Bands possible: Budweiser and Ticketmaster. Startup Day and the Battle of the Geek Bands is part of Startup Week, presented by GeekWire and taking place from Oct. 18 to Oct. 30.
Get your GeekWire Startup Day tickets and Battle of the Geek Bands tickets below. Looking forward to seeing everyone — including any Nigel Tufnel impersonators, Star Wars characters and other outlandish ghouls and goblins — on Oct. 25!
