Chesterfield Rock boys on road to fame

Chesterfield Rock
(opening for Wide Mouth Mason) Friday-Saturday Casino Regina
By GERRY KROCHAK for the Leader-Post

The conversation has changed from talking about how young Chesterfield Rock is to how good Chesterfield Rock is.

Despite one of the worst names in the history of music, the Emerald Park teens are on their way to Toronto after winning the 2005 X-Treme Band Slam as well as the 2005 Last Band Standing contests.

Although singer-guitarist Josh Giambattista says that he never approached the competitions as anything other than a chance to play in front of as many people as possible, the benefits have already been paying dividends.

"We went from nobody knowing who we are to doing interviews, having people buy our CD and people coming up to us talking about seeing us at the Casino," says this 17-year-old junior heartthrob with the breathy John Mayer delivery. "I guess (the contests) are kind of necessary, but art is something that should be shared among artists.

"We didn't look at it in terms of winning and losing - everybody just showcases their stuff and the cards fall where they fall."

What the boys really won was the opportunity to pay their own way to the national X-Treme Band Slams finals next weekend in Toronto, during Canadian Music Week. Giambattista, guitarist-keyboardist Carter Kolbeck, bassist Aaron Coons and drummer Shawn Ritco have been scraping up money for the trip via various fundraising endeavours and recent gigs.

Once there, Chesterfield Rock will be competing against regional winners from across Canada for $50,000 in prizes, including studio time, guitars, basses, amps, microphones and other assorted gear, as well as a national radio promotion and publicity package plus three months of agency representation.

"We're just going to try and look at it as another gig," Kolbeck says. "It's in a bar. Hopefully they like us and hopefully the judges think we're doing something good - we're just going to do our best and see what happens."

The key to the group thus far has been in its songs. Where others might have more playing experience, tunes such as "Don't Fill My Head," "So Bloody Cold," and "As The Rain Pours" are mature far beyond the band's average age of 17.

"Songs about relationships, girls and just regular teenage stuff" is where Giambattista says CFR draws its inspiration. "Things that we all go through . . . we just turn into songs.

"I think Carter writes more about stuff that actually happens, whereas I write things that are all over the place. If songwriting is an outlet, I look at it this way: When you have a problem and you put it into a song, you're kind of wrapping the problem up. It's done. It's over.

"We're an easy-listening band and our songs have messages, but you don't have to look really hard to find them. People can relate."

Perhaps the best part about winning the regional X-Treme Band Slam competition is that it comes with the opportunity to open a pair of shows for veteran recording artist and fellow Saskatchewan band Wide Mouth Mason this weekend at the Casino Regina Show Lounge.

Friday and Saturday nights will mark the last two shows Chesterfield Rock will play before heading to Toronto next Wednesday.

"People tend to cut us a lot of slack because we're a young band," Giambattista says. "But hopefully we always surprise them with our songs and our musicianship.

"I guess we're not like a lot of other bands in that we don't jump around a lot and stuff. We just play and I think people can tell that we're sincere about our music.

As for these two gigs, we're excited to play with Wide Mouth Mason. We want to hear some stories about what it takes to be in a touring band and we'll take any advice they can give us!" For more on Chesterfield Rock, log on to www.chesterfieldrock.com.