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Local band seeks votes in national online contest |
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Front Page Story
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Written by Tom Chapin
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Friday, 12 March 2010 |
Members of The Third Degree — (from left) Kyle Beatty on bass, John Sproull on drums, Julia Voris on fiddle and Kempton Beatty on lead guitar — take a break from rehearsals Wednesday. Missing are vocalist Lindsey Reed and fiddler Ryan Sutter. (Photo by Tom Chapin/The Punxsutawney Spirit)
PUNXSUTAWNEY — A local Christian rock band is among 50 artists competing in the second round of a national online contest, and friends and fans can help the group make it to the third and final round.
The Third Degree, formed in last August, entered the “Rock the Camp” contest just barely before the Feb. 1 deadline. Thus far, the band’s song, “Wonderful God,” has emerged among the Top 50 songs from between 750 and 800 entries.
The band members are Kempton Beatty on lead guitar; Kyle Beatty on bass and vocals; Lindsey Reed on lead vocals and rhythm guitar; John Sproull on drums; and Julia Voris on fiddle.
Ryan Sutter also plays fiddle when Voris — who is well-known in the Punxsy area for playing fiddle in contests around the country — performs elsewhere.
Kyle Beatty said he learned about the contest, sponsored by a Nashville-based music camp called Camp Electric, around Jan. 20. The contest rules stipulated that acts should consist of six or fewer members ages 13 and up.
The Third Degree had about six original songs to choose from, but after some discussion and debate, the band members agreed to enter Reed’s choice, “Wonderful God.”
“It took some time, but we all agreed,” Kempton Beatty said.
The band recorded the track at Earthworx Studio, near Covode.
Not many bands include a fiddle player, but the band members wrote fiddle parts for Voris in spaces in the song where they made sense.
Sproull said the group formed when he attended Punxsutawney Christian School and met Reed. She still attends PCS, and Sproull attends the PA Cyber School.
The Third Degree has performed at The Well Coffeehouse, hosted by the First United Methodist Church, which Reed attends, and its next gig is next Friday, March 19, at the Punxsutawney Area Community Center gym with two other bands. That event is a benefit show for Haitian relief efforts.
The first round of voting in the “Rock the Camp” contest ran from Feb. 1 to Feb. 28. By the time the second round began March 1, the band members weren’t even sure if they had made it to the second round, until Sproull found its song on the third page of the Web site’s artist feature.
Fans and friends may stuff the online ballot box, but may vote only once every 24 hours.
So far, members of The Third Degree and their families have spread the word about the contest via e-mail, posters and word-of-mouth at their respective churches. Sproull said his fellow students on his cyber school have also helped by voting often.
First prize in the contest is opening for Camp Electric founder and former DC Talk member Toby Mac in Nashville; performing on the 2011 KLOVE Friends & Family Cruise; and working in the studio with producer Paul Ebersold.
The final round of the contest runs from March 23 to March 31. Winners will be announced April 6.
The Third Degree derived its name from Romans 10: 9, 10 — “(9) That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” — and from the definition in the dictionary, in which one uses extra effort to gain a confession.
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Last Updated ( Saturday, 13 March 2010 )
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