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The CiTR battle of the bands contest is called Shindig!

It happens between September and December, For about 20 years (it’s a SHiNDiG! fact that NOBODY knows the inaugural year exactly) they have been showcasing new bands that go on to be successful around the world like You say party We say Die! or The Pack. These year there were 4 bands in the final. The winners were Hidden Towers Second Place: Half Chinese Third Place: Kidnap Kids! Fourth Place: Pro Nails.

I was judging one of the semi finals where these guys played. It was an easy pick for me. Their guitar and drums duo just went on creating landscapes of heavy post rock. For me the hard decision was who I was going to chose second. Their sound reminded me of different musical states of mind, it was like a collage of fresh rock. Trans Am meets Thrill Jockey records from Chicago. Influences that go from Sabbath to Yes. They have since incorporated a bass player Ben Holland. The duo that won Shindig! were Chris Cantrell: Guitar and Sean Bradey: Drums. They were pretty impressive. Their guitar player later posted this entry in their blog http://beyondthehiddentowers.blogspot.com/  regarding his winning.

So we did it. We won SHINDIG 2009. How the hell did that happen? I think that maybe, secretly, people want the rock to come back. They’re just afraid and unsure about going along with the cycle. This cycle happens through every decade. Popular culture grabs unto some package or idea to exploit, people get sick and bored of it and create something alternative to the norm. That alternative gets exploited to the point that it becomes popular culture or the norm and so on and so on….you get the picture. That might be one of several reasons why we won…

Cantrell in an interview with Scott Lyon from Discorder magazine tells him about their name “

Hidden Towers

For me, the name ‘Hidden Towers’ evokes this image of a planet devoid of human life but with traces of our existence” Cantrell said. “It’s the idea of nature reclaiming the Earth. I’d like to think of our music as something that might be the soundtrack to that … a peaceful, healthy planet with hope—not for us, but for itself.”

and in their my space site they talked a little bit about their band and also you can listen to three songs that they recorded LIVE! on CiTR. I am guessing from Live From Radio Thunderbird Hell.

http://www.myspace.com/hiddentowers

Hidden Towers started in the Autumn of 2008 although the concept for this project has been in the works for the past decade. Chris Cantrell and Ben Holland have been in search for the perfect combination of members for years after the break up of their previous band The Unwelcoming Committee. The project has been put on the back burner a few times while Chris was filling out his guitar obligations with Vonnegut Dollhouse. Upon the break-up of Vonnegut Dollhouse, Chris and Ben made a commitment to put this band together and recruited vocalist Shawn Allen and ex-Carpe Diem drummer Sean Bradey. The platform for Hidden Towers remains the same as the original vision a decade ago. That is to create brutally beautiful surrealistic compositions. Hidden Towers evoke their inspiration from fear, paranoia, sexuality and metaphysics. They accomplish this by mixing a cocktail of soul shattering rhythms and innocently playful melodies that draw from jazz, Turkish, metal and post rock music. As of November 2009, Hidden Towers will pursue their music instrumentally. Rock on!!

So there you have it. Check THIS Alternative band. Independent rock of quality. I am looking forward to a CD from these guys. Check them out also at The Morning After Show, I will be playing a couple of their songs as well.