Flat Stanley Victorious in Battle of the Bands (VUHS group writes own songs)
Andy Kirkaldy
Flat Stanley, which describes itself as playing ska music with punk influences, played five original songs at Higher Ground in Winooski to prevail in the field of six finalists, including The Phox, which is made up of Middlebury High School students.
The six members of Flat Stanley will share a $500 gift certificate at Burlington's Advance Music Center and six hours of free recording time at the EMP LLC studios in Colchester after winning the band battle, which was sponsored by the music store and 99.9-FM The Buzz.
Flat Stanley also earned the chance to play at "The Bang", a major show featuring many established Vermont bands that will be held at Burlington's Memorial Auditorium on May 24. Members of the band are vocalist and bass player Adam Popick of Waltham, guitarist Andy Chugg of Vergennes, drummer Ryan Donnelly of Ferrisburgh, saxophonist Matt Krayewsky of Waltham and trombonists Sam Quinn of Waltham and Andy Klopfenstein of Vergennes.
All are seniors except Donnelly and Klopfenstein, and the band has played together for three years.
Quinn, who writes most of the group's lyrics, described ska as based on raggae music, and said Flat Stanley's sound resembles bands like The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Catch-22 and Less Than Jake.
Quinn said the band incorporates funk, rock and jazz elements, which blended with ska and punk makes a style well-suited for horn-heavy Flat Stanley.
"(Ska) is an off-shoot of raggae," Quinn said. "It's a little more upbeat, and generally has more active horn parts."
Subside (Sunrise?), another VUHS band, won the competition a year ago, when Flat Stanley also made the finals. Many in both groups honed their talents in the well-regarded VUHS music program.
"Sure, we'll put in a plug for (VUHS music director) Mrs. O'Daniel," Quinn said. "Everyone in the band is a really good musician, and we've got a couple extraordinary musicians"
The most talented musically, according to Quinn, are probably Popick, who comes up with most of the music for the group's songs, and Donnelly.
"(Popick) really starts most of the songs," Quinn said. "He'll pick a key and come up with a bass line."
Quinn said an organizer of the band competition, which drew a couple dozen groups before six were selected for the May 10 final, described Donnelly as "hands-down the best drummer" among the finalists.
Among the songs Flat Stanley played at Higher Ground, Quinn said, were "Gently" a long song "with a lot of funk influences;" "Quiet in the Corner," a song about the end of a relationship that "starts softly and builds to a hard rock chorus;" and "Far Away".
That "ska-punk" song focuses on "the way people fit into society," Quinn said, and conludes with lyrics that echo a Beatles classic.
"I know who I was yesterday/ but the world is a changing place/ my thoughts, my dreams have gone astray/ and yesterday's so far away."
Because the band's seniors will be going in different directions after this summer, Flat Stanley will try to stay busy while they can still make music together.
"We're definitely going to play as many times as we can," Quinn said.
There is good news and bad news in splitting the prize six ways. Members will have only $83 each to spend at the music store, but they also plan on adding 10 or 12 hours to the six-hour studio prize and taking the time to record eight songs.
That will bring the studio cost down to a little more that $100 apiece, and allow them to record a full-length compact disc that can serve as a keepsake.
"That's the good part of having six members in the band," Quinn said. "We'll all chip some more in and get a CD, a finished product we can have for the rest of our lives."
