Philharmonic plans inaugural Battle of Bands

“Kind of a dream come true,” drummer Eric Novroski said, describing what it would be like to have his band play with the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic. “There are rock bands all over the place that would kill for an opportunity like this, to play with a full orchestra.”

The band Novroski plays with —So Much Hope, Buried — is one of eight local groups selected to play in the Philharmonic’s inaugural Battle of the Bands, to be presented by Rock 107 at 7 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, at Mohegan Pennsylvania Casino’s Keystone Grand Ballroom in Wilkes-Barre.

The bands represent various genres, from rock to country to “teetering on the edge of metal.” Cash prizes will be awarded, and several musicians agree that while the $5,000 grand prize would be nice, they’re really excited about the chance to perform with the Philharmonic that accompanies it.

“Talk about a feather in your cap,” said Jay Orrell from the Jay Orrell Band. “That would be a pterodactyl feather — if pterodactyls had feathers.”

“It would be one for the ages,” said Ryan “Riggz” Miller, who plays with One Revived.

As for Spencer Puzak from The Sorters, he’s already thinking the band’s original song “To the Nile,” which “has an Egyptian kind of sound to it and beautiful cello work,” would be ideal for orchestral backing.

“To the Nile” is one of the two songs The Sorters expect to play during the Jan. 31 competition, when each band will have 8 minutes to show what it can do.

While Rock 107’s John Popko will emcee, judges include Mélisse Brunet, Philharmonic music director; Chason Goldschmitz, Philharmonic executive director; Ruotao Mao, Philharmonic concertmaster; Kait “Kait Rock” Sardin, co-host of Rock 107’s Prospector Show; Jennifer Ducharme, Mohegan PA director of events; State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski and Rick Hoffenberg, co-director of Marywood University School of Visual & Performing Arts

The judges will choose the grand-prize winner and a runner-up, who will receive $1,000. The winner of an Audience Choice Award will also receive $1,000. For tickets to the Battle of the Bands, visit NEPAPHIL.org, or call the Box Office at (570) 270-4444.

The competing bands, chosen from 40 applicants, include:

• So Much Hope, Buried.

“A lot of themes we write about are very dark, very heavy, but there’s always something positive at the end,” drummer Eric Novroski said, explaining the band’s name is “sort of an ode to finding hope in a dark place.”

A rock band whose punk rock sound can “teeter on the edge of metal,” Novroski said the group likely will play two original pieces — “Apparition” and “Idle Hands” — on Jan. 31.

“It’s going to be a stiff competition,” Novroski predicted. “There’s wonderful bands playing. I’m familiar with most of them, and they’re really talented.”

• Tori V. & The Karma

“When you’re busy playing, you don’t always have time to go out and hear your friends,” said Tori Viccica of Plains Township, leader of Tori V. & The Karma.

That’s why she’s doubly excited to be part of the Battle of the Bands. Her band, known for a timeless, 80s-inspired rock sound, gets to perform, and her bandmates get to listen as their friends play.

“It’s great to give everybody a chance,” she said of the different genres in the competition. “Diversity is a good thing.”

There’s so much camaraderie among local bands, Viccica said, that Brian Toole, who plays bass in her band, also will perform in the competition with another band, One Revived, which has a very different sound.

• One Revived

Billed as “the only psychobilly band in Northeast PA,” One Revived just released their first album, “Is This A Nightmare?”

The four-piece band merges punk, metal, country and rockabilly and, guitarist Ryan “Riggz” Miller said, “our songs are naturally short. That might be our advantage of getting as much music as we can into 8 minutes.”

“We like to banter with each other, and we try not to take ourselves too seriously,” Miller said, describing stage antics in which the bass player flips his bass “up on a 90-degree angle” while continuing to play and sing. Or Miller himself will take his guitar and jump onto the bass.

“We’re kind of honored and perplexed and wondering who let us in there,” Miller said, laughing as he described the band’s reaction to learning they are in the Battle of the Bands.

• Jay Orrell Band

“Someone says, ‘OK, you have 8 minutes, impress me’ … and our band does over 2,000 songs. What do you do with that?” Jay Orrell said, explaining his group has decided to devote their eight minutes onstage to “a medley of all the coolest, most fun songs.”

So, in the Battle of the Bands, you may hear the Jay Orrell Band (also known as JOB) play snatches of songs Journey or Bon Jovi made famous, “along with some ‘Jessie’s Girl’ or ‘Summer of ‘69’ by Bryan Adams,” Orrell said. “And we’ll throw one surprise song in the middle of it. It will sound a little bit orchestral and show anybody from the Philharmonic that ‘these guys can handle it.’ “

The group has been playing together for more than 20 years, traveling from Florida to New York and playing at local venues such as Party on the Patio. “Some bands play together to make money,” Orrell said, “but we can’t wait to get together to play music and hang out because we’re all friends.”

• The Sorters

This band formed with nightly jam sessions when the three original members worked together at a farm store in Bradford County, where every day started with sorting fruits and vegetables.

“It was a really rewarding job for all of us,” singer/guitarist Spencer Puzak recalled. “We got to work in the fields.”

Spencer and his wife, cellist and keyboard player Callie Puzak, grew up around Bellefonte, Centre County, and used to play in rock bands with amplifiers. After a while, he said, “We needed to get away from the hustle and bustle of State College to work on our music.”

They moved to a more rural area, built the home they live in, and lived off the grid for a year. “It was tough in the winter, doing everything with a wood stove and getting power through a generator,” Puzak said, noting that the couple turned to acoustic music at that point.

With James Dufort on drums and Kyle Roberts on bass, the four members of The Sorters enjoy making original music that is “written and sculpted to have many layers to it,” and would love to play with the Philharmonic if they win the Battle of the Bands.

• Gracie Jane Sinclair & The Band

Led by singer/songwriter Gracie Jane Sinclair, this band delivers a blend of soft rock and country. According to Sinclair’s online biography, the singer’s “heart lies in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s classics, but (she) will perform country, rock, folk, blues, pop, and indie from almost any age.”

• Rogue Chimp

Hailing from Lackawanna County, Rogue Chimp combines synthesizer and electronic beats with a violin in a danceable mix. Rogue Chimp’s music is a unique combination of jazz/fusion, prog/funk, classical/techno, and world music.

• Chasing Ashlee

An all-occasion rock cover band “that will have you jumping out of your chair,” Chasing Ashlee is led by vocalist Ashlee Castellano of Duryea, who happens to be singing Disney style through Jan. 25 as Elsa in the Ovation Playhouse production of the musical “Frozen.”

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