By LEAH TATE
newsroom@newsandtribune.com
JEFFERSONVILLE —
Five young women will be heading to the Downtown Disney District in Anaheim, Calif., to compete in a battle of the bands on Jan. 21.
The all-girl rock band, the Hi-tops, is one of eight bands chosen to battle it out on stage to win the national teen music competition, SchoolJam USA. The grand prize is a trip to perform at SchoolJam Germany, the opportunity to shoot their own music video on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus — a non-profit mobile audio and video recording production facility — awarded $5,000 toward their school’s music program and $1,000 toward musical gear for their band.
The band will host a “L.A. or Bust” fundraiser concert with special guest Dylan Adams from 8 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 15, at Cluckers on Riverside Drive in Jeffersonville to help fund its trip to compete in SchoolJam USA. Tickets are $8 each.
The Hi-tops band members are Remi Maxwell, 16, lead singer and guitarist, Jessie Madill, 17, vocalist and guitarist, Madi Cunningham, 16, drummer, Ally Whitlow, 17, keyboard player and sister Bayley Whitlow, 13, bass player.
Madill, Cunningham and Ally Whitlow attend Jeffersonville High School, Maxwell attends Silver Creek High School and Bayley Whitlow attends Silver Creek Middle School.
Madill said the main goal is to get noticed.
“Winning would be great,” Madill said, “but catching the eye of that one person that can get you to the top, that would be awesome.”
The Hi-tops manager, Kim Elliott, said when she found out about the competition, she knew she had to get the Hi-tops to compete.
“This is a great opportunity to show a lot of big musicians what they can do,” Elliott said. “Not every band or singer gets the opportunity to do this.”
The Hi-tops was selected as a SchoolJam USA finalist through a combination of an online public voting contest in November, and a music score given by an anonymous panel of industry judges. Eight bands with the highest number of votes and music score were selected from 119 bands nationwide to compete in the contest.
Bayley Whitlow said while they don’t know what music score they received from the judges, 6,109 votes helped secure them a spot in the final round of the SchoolJam USA competition.
The Hi-tops will have 15 minutes to perform three songs during the competition. They will be performing their original songs, “New York Water,” Don’t Say That You Love Me,” and “Party.”
The competition will be streamed live at www.schooljamusa.com Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. EST.
The SchoolJam USA competition is a program by the National Association of Music Merchants. The Hi-tops will be visiting NAMM, Jan. 18 -22. While they are only performing during the competition on Jan. 21, the remainder of their schedule will be filled with networking with other artists and attending music classes and workshops.
The band has been performing together for about seven years, and writes and performs its own songs. The girls started training and performing through Mom’s Music Rock School in Jeffersonville, and now perform at local and regional events and venues.
The Hi-tops have opened up for the Jonas Brothers at the WDJX Birthday Bash, Phoenix Hill Tavern for former American Idol Finalist Amanda Overmyer and for the Allstar Weekend at Headliners in Louisville.
The Hi-tops said they are very appreciative of all the votes they received from their fans, and the donation from New Washington State Bank to help make it to the finals.
“The whole experience is outrageous,” Madill said. “This will be a memory we will hold onto forever.”
