Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Teo Crider of Candysound at the EMP Sound-Off! competition in early March. Photo by Haylee Nighbert

Candysound. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

Candysound. Photo by Haylee Nighbert.

The weekend of March 6 was sunny and warm, not at all like most days in early March. On that particular Saturday I went on a road trip to Experience Music Project’s Sound Off! underage music competition finals with Bellingham/Burlington band, Candysound.

On the way south with the band, Teo Crider (guitarist) drove while Tom Fitzgibbon (drummer) sat shotgun. Lindsay Osborne (merch) and I sat in the back. I was already picking up on some of the band’s influences on the drive there, speakers blaring The Stooges, Bright Eyes and Neutral Milk Hotel, and just a little Notorious B.I.G. It was a day for sing-a-longs, sushi sharing, and way too much caffeine.

Candysound was one of two Bellingham bands that made it to Sound Off! this year. The other was Pan Pan, the folk indie wonder who has been all over What’s Up! these days. The band, fronted by Sarah Jerns, contrasted with the style of Candysound’s pop-alt exterior. It was a nice combo to represent Bellingham’s diverse music scene. In the end, Teo and Tom made it past the semi-finals and won the chance to grace the final stage.

Upon arrival at the Experience Music Project, Candysound and the other bands unloaded their gear in the Sky Church, voices occasionally remarking “This stage is so tall! Look at it!” There was an unseen electricity and excitement in the air for the band and their competitors.

This year had a very wide range of performers for just four acts:

Hooves and Beak (Seattle): Whitney Flinn brought out a big, beautiful wooden harp and set it in front of her onstage. With her feathered bangs and black suspenders, she claimed that most of the songs she writes are inspired by “Drinking, loneliness, and men.” And through her eerie melodrama and harp in hand, Hooves and Beak lifted some charming folk melodies into the air. In the crowd, a small child danced beside me. It was hauntingly pretty, and I couldn’t help but compare her to Joanna Newsom.

SEACATS (Kelso): As SEACATS assembled on stage, it looked like the members were an assimilation of all the different cliques in high school; each cafeteria table at their high school assigning one kid to represent them in the band.

Their execution was something that would be expected from a group much older. Between songs they would quickly switch between instruments; the drummer becoming the guitarist, the bassist becoming the keyboardist, etc. The band performed bouncy surf-rock/pop that reminded me of a much younger Weezer.

Great Waves (Sammamish): The minute Ashley Bullock opened her mouth to sing, I was amazed that such a big voice could come from such a small woman. Her voice was reminiscent of the Eisley sisters’ pure, clean vocals and traditional Irish folk style.

Great Waves exuded a passion that came forth in their playing. This was the main reason that they were so fun to watch, even with the visage of meekness on the part of Bullock. They seemed to come out of nowhere, starting songs slowly and building them up to the breaking point. Their performance of “Blue Blood” was my favorite.

Performing last, Candysound played everybody off with some captivating pop-alt melodies. Teo’s subtle vocals paired with Tom’s drums is a deadly combination. Their performance was a good mix between excited and upbeat and, at times, morphed into steady and calculated. This is an indicator of the dynamic nature of Candysound’s songwriting. It’s a journey from one end to the spectrum and back again.

Finishing off with their song, “Echo,” Teo and Tom came to the height of their performance. The mood of the audience diverged into a calm stasis, and by the end of the song, Teo shredded his guitar into a post rock-like culmination.

With the competition coming to a close, everybody anxiously awaited the judges’ final decision. And when the moment came to announce the winners, the judges gave SEACATS fourth, Candysound third, Hooves and Beak second, and left Great Waves to win the prize.

Although they didn’t take the prize, it was obvious that Candysound made an impression. They got some well-deserved exposure and the chance to interact with other underage bands in the area, as well as some powerhouses in the Seattle music scene. The car ride home was cramped because of all the goodies Teo and Tom got to bring home, including a new guitar and a vocal harmony (vocoder) machine. All in all, the competition was a success.

Check out www.youtube.com/empsfm for videos from the competition.

Both Teo (guitar/vocals) and Tom (drums/vocals) pack a lot of punch with such a small set-up. Their indie pop sound is reminiscent of Pinback with its ethereal guitar and the vocals remind me of a pop-punk Radiohead; alt-crooning with a little edge. Plus, the coffee shop definitely granted a more intimate performance. You could notice all of the band’s subtleties from the small size of the venue. I could see Candysound becoming even more successful… and soon.

The duo is young, both are under 21. This qualified them for a slot in EMP’s Sound Off! competition, which will take place at the EMP Skychurch on Feb. 13. It’s an accomplishment shared by Bellingham’s Pan Pan as well.

Maple Nightingale came next. She had a real delicate manner about her, which was emphasized by her lighter-than-air voice. Playing a strictly acoustic show, Maple did a couple gorgeous covers which included a Regina Spektor song and Karen O and the Kids’ “All Is Love” off the “Where The Wild Things Are” soundtrack.

As I was leaving the Anker Cafe, I let Teo and Tom know that they played a great show. But before I left, Teo stopped me. “I want you to put in the magazine that Maple has the best voice ever,” said Teo, “actually, put ‘in the universe.’”

The underage group, which sprouted from the awesome teen punk rock band The Cherubs, is showing a penchant for 60’s psychedelic combined with Crider’s own Emo tendencies. The result is a fabulously original sounding “thing” coming from these fellows. The title track was certainly one of the best songs I’ve heard this year, Crider’s Stratocaster and Fitzgibbon’s skin working like a fine oiled machine in a White Stripes kind of way. The song also has Crider using a multitude of guitar tones as the different parts of the tune unfold. The lyrics ask us if “there must be better things” in an explosive crescendo that is worthy of the word crescendo.

This band is on its way to sounding a bit like one of the world’s greatest bands The Boo Radleys. This 3-song EP would be a good one to have on hand. Check them out online and live in Bellingham, Burlington, or Seattle.

Self Released
www.myspace.com/candysoundmusic