L.A. Story: ‘Keep Rock Alive’
By DONNA BALANCIA – Local “feel-good” rock band, L.A. Story will have a shot at the big-time when the guys do a tryout Saturday for the NBCTV hit show America’s Got Talent.
“This is a really great opportunity for exposure,” said Erik Hatchett, whose 1-year-old band has toured around the U.S., but calls Los Angeles home. L.A. Story is comprised of Hatchett on vocals, Carmine D’Amico and Aaron Lee on guitar; Carlos Pagen on bass and Chris Bozadzis on drums.
“We play ‘feel good rock’ and people seem to like it,” Hatchett said.
The guys will go to the L.A. Convention Center and will play the first round with acoustic instruments. They get 90 seconds to impress the America’s Got Talent producers and if they nail it, move on to the celebrity judge round which won’t be televised. If they get the celebrity judges to like them, they move on to national TV.
Hatchett said the band will play their song, “Five Girls,” and he’s hoping for the best. But regardless, the band also has a “cut-away” interview that will most likely air on the prime time show.
“We’ve been rehearsing three days a week to get all our notes in a row,” Hatchett said. “If we don’t get the go it’s not a problem. We have some tours in the works and a show the day after our audition.”
Hatchett, whose band performed at CrueFest at the Whisky said the goal of trying for America’s Got Talent is to get the band out there and to help encourage other musicians to keep rock music alive.
“Our main goal is to just get to the next level of our careers and bring rock back to the LA spotlight,” Hatchett said. “We’re not trying to be the next Green Day or One Direction, we just want to play rock music that makes people feel good and dance a bad day away!”
