Blastbeat final taking place this Saturday

Young people all over Ireland are now living a life that is “underground”. They are not represented on the radio or in the papers, they rarely get a look in traditional media, but boy are they active. They are all over the net, downloading, and making music like never before. They are online, wired and very mobile. They have their Myspace and Bebo pages and watch less and less TV. They rock a lot too, they have few places to go, but Blast and Blastbeat provides a suitable service for them.

Blast is the alternative youth community network space and gigging circuit. Live gigs, online community space, unique footage and photos of them and their friends and bands on stage having a Blast.

Blastbeat is the (music) business game for schools.

The BlastBeat Challenge is a mini-company programme for 14 to 18 year olds but engages many more students in two all Ireland competitions that are linked.
Each BlastBeat mini music company is made up of a chief executive officer, a marketing manager, PR manager, sales team, accountant/finance manager, production manager, talent spotter, promoter, event manager, lighting and sound team, health, safety / security officers, photographers, video crew, web team, art and design team and even (music) journalists.

Blastbeat was created. It is now running in three countries and is destined to roll out world wide in the next five years with interest from 14 other counties in the programme already. Blastbeat is now sponsored by Coca Cola and has become Coca Cola Blastbeat for the last year at least.

Blastbeat was created by music industry veteran and Blast boss Robert Stephenson three years ago. It is designed to give young people an opportunity create social capital, to learn how to work as a team, run a company and have a lot of fun while learning by doing.
The action is has been caught on TV within the Blastbeat TV series that is running on RTE 2 every Friday at 7pm and Saturday at 11am.
Coca Cola Blastbeat shows young people set up and run their company, handle their school authorities, the bands and how they overcome all the trials, tribulations and problems involved in a new business start-up. We see how they develop their marketing strategies and business plans; how they target and achieve their success. We follow them from the start of their journey in October 2005 all the way to the finals of the competition in May, where they are competing to be the best mini multimedia music company and for a cash prize of €5,000.
The nine months that Blastbeat runs in schools sees the chosen bands recorded, groomed and marketed to professional industry standards, but by other students.
At the end of the year, after a series of local heats, a National Battle of the Bands will be held and CDs of the best music from the year will go on sale.
We see how the companies help some of the bands they discover and champion all the way to the finals in the Opera House in Cork on the 13 May. The winning band not only gain a record deal, but they will be given the opportunity to tour the on the Blast all-ages circuit plus a full backline of equipment from Walton’s that includes a premier drum kit and a set of paste cymbals, Crate and Ampeg amps.
No one will know the outcome of this until the final on Saturday 13 May and the general public will know after the last TV programme in the series on the Friday 19 so it is going to be quite a trip to watch.
The companies concerned are donating as much as 100% of their profits to 2winaid a new foundation set up to help students in the third and first world twin and help each other. See www.2winaid.org.
Anyone with an interest in music and the arts will have a role to play in BlastBeat, and that, according to its organiser Robert Stephenson, is the whole point. Only 27% of teenagers are actively and regularly involved in organised sports. What are the rest supposed to do if there is nowhere to hang out and nothing to do except drink?
Stephenson has been running Blast gigs for under 18s for seven years now, and he believes it’s time to stop complaining about the “young people of today” and start giving them a real chance to use their talents. Through the Blast project, where bands like the Marshals and Director built an essential and young fan base that helped them chart top ten in recent months with their first singles, Robert has seen an abundance of talent and determination among young musicians and music enthusiasts.
“We’re always complaining about the behavior of young people but we don’t offer any venues or activities that fit with their interests. Many young people suffer from low self esteem because they feel rejected or suspected by parents, school authorities, gardai. Many 15 and 16 year olds are seriously interested in music and the arts but have no outlet for that interest. It’s time to offer some of those 73% of teenagers with non-conformist lifestyles an alternative.”
So if you live in Cork or nearby, go to the Opera House on Saturday 13 May and you will be able to see the exhibition of mini companies and talk with the students. Entry is free for that part of the day- for the music you will have to pay….
For more details on all this check out www.blastbeat.org and www.blast.ie.