Kansas State University - The Royal Purple Yearbook

“Local Rhythms Awards help area bands develop larger following Local recognition helped area bands achieve success outside Manhattan. Ruskabank, a ska band made up mostly of students, began in the fall of 1995 with David Spiker, senior in music and vocalist, and Donnyves Laroque, senior in music education and pianist. The other six members joined by February 1996 and had their first rehearsals in the basement of Marlatt Hall. " People sent us hate letters, " Spiker said. " We weren ' t able to (play) anywhere but parties. Everyday I ' m amazed by it. Now people ask, ' Hey, when are you playing next? ' " Ruskabank played their 100th show Oct. 9. " Manhattan is the best place to play, " Dave Studnicka, trombone player and junior in geography, said. " Ninety-nine percent of our fans are in town. We have a great following. The whole town comes out and supports us. " Eric Melin, drummer for Ultimate Fakebook, another Manhattan band, liked being small-town based, but also recognized the difficulties it brought. " I like being from Manhattan, " he said. " But it ' s easier to get noticed in a bigger city, so it ' s a challenge. " The distance between Manhattan and larger cities, like Kansas City and Lawrence, caused some discord between Ultimate Fakebook and other bands at the April 11, 1998 Klammies, a Kansas City and Lawrence area music award contest. The band was nominated for five awards and won four: Song of the Year, Band of the Year, Album of the Year and Best Alternative Rock Band. " There was bitterness that we weren ' t from Kansas City or Lawrence, " Melin said. " It was like we were from the area but really not. " Ultimate Fakebook, consisting of Melin, Bill McShane, vocals and guitar, and Nick Colby, bass guitar, formed in 1994. Their first CD, " Electric Kissing Parties, " was released in 1998. The band also won a regional competition in Chicago, receiving $30,000 in prizes, including 40 hours of recording time and Disc Makers Independent Music World ' s title of Best Band in the Midwest. " It was a weird stroke of fate that we ended up winning, " Melin said. Pomeroy, a Manhattan funk and hip-hop band, took the grand prize of $400 in the OPUS Live Band Competition Sept. 18 in the K-State Student Union zone. The 12th annual contest, sponsored by the Union Program Council ' s Eclectic Entertainment Committee and KMKF-FM 101.5, named Pomeroy the best of seven entries. " We were really happy because it showed a lot of people around the area that Pomeroy is for real, " David Fairbanks, lead vocalist and senior in mass communication, said. " It gave us more confidence. It reinforced the notion in our heads that we were good enough to win. " Melin said awards were nice but weren ' t what made him enjoy music. " It ' s in my blood, " he said. " If I got my arms chopped off, I ' d be unhappy because I couldn ' t play the drums. That ' s all I really want to do. " Members from Ruskabank agreed. " It ' s all about starting from nothing, " Laroque said. " If you have a lot of success, great, but it ' s all about playing the music. " Bassist Dean Hopkins, in business, plays at the Opus Band Competition in the free-speech zone Sept. 18. Seven bands competed in the annual competition, and Hopkins ' band, Pomeroy, took first place. (Photo by Clif Palmberg) by Wendy Schantz 12 student life ”