After making its mark on the local music scene, Duke Junior & The Smokey Boots has set its sights on nationwide recognition by competing in Billboard.com’s Battle of the Bands.
“We were chosen, so they contacted us,” said vocalist and guitarist Jess Kauffman. “Part of their process was they have this scale where they rate bands, and part of it is Web presence and we have a pretty strong Web presence, so they got ahold of us and told us we were selected.”
Billboard hosts its annual Battle of the Bands in order to bring attention to unsigned bands across the country. Duke Junior & The Smokey Boots — the only Ohio-based band in the competition — was chosen as one of three finalists to represent the Midwest, and one of 18 finalists nationwide.
“We’re honored to have been chosen by Billboard magazine and it’s pretty cool that we’re representing Ohio,” Kauffman said. “It’s a wide range of genres of music, but we’re one of the only roots music bands that’s in the whole competition, so that feels pretty good as well.”
Keeping to the roots music base, the band plays music from several genres, and Kauffman described its sound as “country folk-rock.”
“Really in this competition we are the only band that has a roots sound, meaning that a lot of our songs are going to be country music-influenced and early rock and roll-influenced and jazz-influenced,” said Kyle Martin, who plays bass and guitar and sings. “And it’s pretty stripped down, pretty much you only hear our instruments in our songs. A lot of the bands in the competition are going to use more technology, electronic-type stuff … I think we’re kind of a more traditional, what you would expect to hear from a live band.”
Duke Junior & The Smokey Boots, along with the other Battle of the Bands finalists, has a biography, song and video on the Battle of the Bands website, so fans can vote online for who they want to continue on in the contest.
“The finalist from each region gets sent to Las Vegas to compete in the Battle of the Bands in Vegas,” Kauffman said. “And then the winner of the whole thing actually gets a televised performance slot at the Billboard Music Awards on May 22.”
Winning the entire competition would be a great representation of the band’s hard work, Martin said. And the members of Duke Junior & The Smokey Boots are aiming to gain the support of Athens and Ohio residents alike to help them continue in the competition.
“It’s just something that would really mean a lot to us,” Martin said. “For me personally, if it was someone I knew was from my town or from my state, it would be worth it for me to take the 10 seconds to give them a vote online, because I like supporting my local artists.”
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