Generation Cures - make it better

Battle of the Bands

On April 29, eight Boston area high school rock bands used their music to "make it better" for sick kids everywhere at our Battle of the Bands at Dedham Community Theater. More than $20,000 was raised to benefit research at Children's Hospital Boston.

Through the event, Dedham-based band Yellowcake challenged area bands to create an original song with one idea in mind: what does making it better for others mean? Each band also created a personal fundraising page through GenerationCures.org, inviting friends and family to support research at Children's Hospital Boston. Many band members had personal experiences with Children's-from surgeries at a young age, to life-long treatment for cystic fibrosis. For them, it was a way to thank Children's and all its employees.

Hosted by KISS 108 personality Romeo, the night was a huge success. Bands were scored in five categories: originality, vocals, musicianship, stage presence and crowd reaction. The Jessica Prouty Band took home the top prize, winning a three-date concert tour through Camplified, a music series for teens and tweens at summer camps throughout the country. Yellowcake won the prize for most funds raised, also earning a mini-concert tour this summer.

To get a glimpse of what inspired Yellowcake, visit kids.generationcures.org/watch to view Zebrafish. The original webisodes tell the story of how an unlikely crew of kids form a high school band. When one of their friends becomes sick, the band decides to host a benefit concert to raise money to support medical research.

In addition to raising essential funds for the hospital, the event kicked off the release of Zebrafish, a hard cover graphic novel for tweens. The book extends the online Zebrafish storyline, and a portion of book proceeds benefit the hospital. For more information on where you can find the book, visit zebrafish.com.

Participating bands:

Abyss, Reading
Fair 2 Say, Cambridge
Gutterheads, Needham
The Jessica Prouty Band, Marblehead
The Keys, from Natick, Weston and Dedham
OCDC, Jamaica Plain
Spang, Marblehead
Yellowcake, Dedham

Our sponsors:

CVS

Clear Channel and KISS FM

PH Productions in Newton

Ian's Natural Foods

Camplified

SonicBids

Dedham Community Theatre, and the Dedham Square Music and Art Festival

Celebrity judges:

Jon Butcher: a Grammy-nominated guitarist.

Charlie Ferren: a musician with the Joe Perry Project who has shared the stage with Ozzy Osborne, ZZ Top, Def Leppard, and Rush.

Rory Flynn: founder of Boston Music spotlight, an online music magazine.

Ashley Gearing: the youngest female artist to enter Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart.

Mike Girard: the lead singer and songwriter of The Fools, who've performed with The Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, Blondie, Van Halen, The Bangles, Joan Jett, and The Ramones.

Peter Hackel: an accomplished drummer who now specializes in outdoor music festivals and charity events.

Len Zon, MD: a scientist who's zebrafish laboratory inspired the Generation Cures zebrafish storyline. Zon is also an accomplished trumpet player with the Longwood Symphony.