Local musicians compete in Lander’s Battle of the Bands

Top prize goes to Jewish pop rock group “Except Saturday”

By Baruch Spier

Issue of March 13, 2009 / 17 Adar 5769

Two Far Rockaway-based bands, Min Shemaya and Guns-N-Moses, won second and third place, respectively, at Lander College’s Battle of the Bands competition on Motza’ei Shabbat. The group Except Saturday, whose members hail from Brooklyn and Queens, earned first place, beating out seven other bands.

Over 300 young men flocked to Lander College’s fourth floor auditorium in Queens to watch musicians from the Jewish community display their skills.

Min Shemaya fell short of first place with their final round song, Enu LaHashem. The band, comprised of musicians from Bayswater, Far Rockaway and Lido Beach, played soulful originals with an acoustic sound. A slightly older band in the night’s mostly teenage lineup, Min Shemaya is already working on production of their first CD.

Although they placed third, Guns-N-Moses looks brightly to the future of their slow rock music. The group of Yeshiva of Far Rockaway students astonished the crowd with stunts like behind the head guitar strumming in their first time gig.

“When Guns-N-Moses conquers the world, you saw them here first,” said Netanel Goldstein, lead guitarist of the band.

Another noticeable Far Rockaway musician, Avishai Friedman, played bass for both Guns-N-Moses and 18 Minutes. The crowd didn’t need a second appearance to pay attention to the bassist with his long-haired wig and oversized sunglasses.

Despite the crowd’s enthusiastic reception to their performance, the judges didn’t award a top three placement to Us, a group of high school and post-high school musicians originating from Far Rockaway and Cedarhurst. Security guards tried to contain their jumping fans on the dance floor as crowd surfers dived from the window sills. The performers also demanded visual attention with a wardrobe that included a bright red fedora and a Mexican poncho turned tzitzis.

Except Saturday came to the competition after a two year break from major performances; before their hiatus they won competitions at Yeshiva University and New York University. Except Saturday’s pop rock sound will soon be available on CD and they are currently working on a song to raise money for Israel’s victims of terror.

Ariel Kopitnikoff, director of student life at Lander College for Men, organized the event for the fourth year as a fund-raiser for the college’s student government. Most of the attendees were not Lander students, but were drawn to the show by the bands. The organizers strived to keep the men-only event at a PG level, acting to prevent smoking and drinking at the show.

The first place winners will receive 10 hours of studio time and a recording with a brass orchestra. Second place won $500 and third place received a $300 gift certificate to Safra Judaica.