Wauwatosa-based Briggs and Stratton recently announced that Normal, Ill.-based band The Run Around won its international online battle of the bands competition. The band will perform on the Briggs and Stratton Big Backyard stage at Summerfest on Sunday, June 28 at 5:00 p.m.
“We really saw this as a way to showcase all of the quality music talent the world has to offer and it ties in perfectly with our history of supporting bands on our stage at Summerfest,” said Briggs & Stratton chief executive officer John Shiely. “We are thrilled to offer this ultimate opportunity for an up-and-coming band. We want to thank all of the amazing bands that entered the competition. The Run Around has a great sound and we know they’ll be a big hit at the world’s largest music festival in front of potentially thousands of rock fans.”
Shiely plays guitar in his own band, and also sits on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Board of directors.
The contest ran for about three months from March until the end of May, said Deanna Zabel, corporate communications manager at Briggs and Stratton. The online competition gathered more than 777 band entries from countries all over the world. The Run Around was selected as the winner from the top ten and eventually the top four.
“We really wanted to find a way to identify with our younger demographic, we decided that the companies love and support for music was a great way to do that,” Zabel said.
Winners were determined by the number of online votes that each band received.
“Nearly 900,000 votes were cast in favor of the bands," Zabel said.
The band is comprised of five guys in their 20s who met at Illinois State University and have been playing together for about three years. Up until now, the pop punk/alternative rock band played gigs on college campuses and small clubs throughout the Midwest.
“This is an unbelievable opportunity for us,” Jason Fein, a vocalist for the group said. “We still can’t believe we won sometimes, but we really worked hard getting our friends and family to vote, and it’s good to know that others out there enjoy our music as well.”
The band is influenced by groups like Blink 182 and Alkaline Trio and perform mostly original songs, said Fein.
Other group members include: Brent Steinberg on drums; Jason Enders on bass, and Jerid LeCount and Adam Sharp on Guitar.
“We are really excited about the Summerfest performance,” LeCount said. “It will by far be our biggest concert and we are really looking forward to it.”
In addition to the concert at Summerfest the group will sing “Take me out to the ball game” during the 7th inning stretch of the Saturday June, 27 Brewer.
The band will have photos, a videotape and CD made of their Summerfest performance and a limousine will be provided for transportation and the band will receive first class hotel accommodations while in Milwaukee. See more from the Run Around at their myspace page at www.myspace.com/therunaroundband
Click here to listen an MP3 clip of The Run Around performing a original songs:
