The winners of the second semifinal of the Third Annual “Your Big Break” showcase series presented by Love Revolution Org and the Gold Coast Acoustic Cafe at the Gold Coast Arts Center are singer-songwriter See (first place) and the band Zofolk.
They will join Annika and Emily Lutz in the finals on Saturday, April 18.
See is a 19 year old singer/songwriter from Long Island. This past May she released her debut EP “The Time Thief.” which features seven original songs all written, recorded, mixed, and mastered on her own. She is currently writing and recording for her next EP which will be released in the spring of 2015.
Zofolk was formed at Rock-n-Roll University during the spring of 2014 and has performed at venues including the Nassau Coliseum, The Hub in Island Park, Tattoo Lou’s Annual Poker Run and Easter Seals Drive and at The Cradle of Aviation.
Zofolk has also performed for Breathe for Britt Foundation which benefits Long Island children and teens affected by cystic fibrosis.
The evening’s event also included the band Sir Cadian Rhythm, and singers Jaclyn Manfredi and Samantha Daniels.
Winners of “Your Big Break” win prizes intended to give them a leg up in their music career.
In addition to performing in front of the judges who are influential in the music industry, the winner gets a chance to open for national acts at major venues like The Space at Westbury/Bruce Michael (judge), recording time at The Loft Sound Studio w/Donnie Klang (who is one of the judges) and Matthew LaPorte (judge) who are offering a one song demo recording to the winner, a feature at Reverbnation.com/Lou Plaia (judge), Online TV streaming opportunities on IndiMusic TV with Chris Pati (judge), musical equipment from All Music Inc and Guy Brogna (judge), mentoring at Five Towns College with Linda Ingrisano (judge), plus a photo shoot by Image Photographers and Neil Tandy, a video shoot with Kevin Wood Media, a publicity and promotion campaign with Rick Eberle Public Relations, radio appearances on WCWP and WUSB.
“All the things you need to get started on your musical journey,” said Rick Eberle, a veteran of Arista Records, member of the band “Iridesense,” an entertainment manager and publicist, and the organizer of the Big Break event.
The featured performers for the night, the Brady Brothers – who were accompanied by a large contingent of fans – won notoriety when they were in the first Big Break competition, performing with the band Doink.
There is a new twist this year as there will also be mentors assigned to the finalists once they have been chosen after the second semifinal.
The mentors will work with the artists to help them hone their craft before performing at the finals. Mentors are Long Island based hit makers Ryan Star (Top 10 Single “Stay a While”, TV on Rockstar Supernova), John Hampson (Nine Days top 5 hit “Story of A Girl”), Ido Zmishlany (current hit for Shawn Mendes “Life of the Party”) and Steve Thompson (producer for John Lennon, Guns N Roses, Madonna, 2014 LIMHOF inductee).
An open call for submissions for all musicians age 15 to 25 back in December resulted in more than 1,000 submissions, from which the semifinalists were selected.
To be eligible, the performer could not currently have a recording or publishing contract to submit for the showcase events; interested artists must perform with a band or solo with an acoustic guitar or sing to a backing music track.
The Gold Coast Arts Center is located at 113 Middle Neck Road in Great Neck. For more information about the event, call 516-829-2570, visit www.goldcoastarts.org, or email gnacbigbreak@gmail.com
