They will rock you - Battle of the Bands: Local teens to compete at the Castle Fun Center

Chester — If you haven’t heard already, The Castle Fun Center in Chester is holding a Battle of the Bands. The teen battle will be held on July 25, the adult battle (ages 21 and over) on July 26, and the Christian battle on July 27. The Castle built a permanent stage on its 10,000-square-foot roller skating rink and installed more than $100,000 worth of lighting and sound equipment for this battle. If this isn’t enough to get you interested, take a quick look at the five teen competing tonight. So head yourself over to the Castle (for those of us living under a rock, it’s at 109 Brookside Ave, Route 17M) at 7 p.m., stick a $10 bill into your pocket, and give yourself a pat on the back because a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Brian Ahearn Children’s Fund, which assists needy children Orange, Ulster, and Sullivan counties. See, music does save lives. Within the Walls Within the Walls, alive since 2006, is a “five piece female fronted unsigned rock group exploring various genres,” according to their Web site (withinthewallsband.com). Their music ranges from power metal to pop punk — “Think Paramore meets Nightwish with a dose of Blink182.” (Nice.) Everyone in the band is from Cornwall. “Everyone” includes Mike Annan, 17, lead guitar; Monica Trella, 20, lead vocals; Whit Schuster, 16, guitar/keyboard; Justyn Trella, 15, bass guitar, and John Van Houten, 20, drums. These are only the current members. As Mike explains, “We’ve gone through four drummers, three or four guitarists/bassists, and two singers.” They’ve covered bands from Evanescence to Green Day, from Avenged Sevenfold to Trans-Siberian Orchestra, from Flyleaf to 30 Seconds to Mars, and from KISS to Blink 182. “But you get the idea,” said Mike. (Wow, I think we do.) Demovore Demovore is rockin’ out loud with Christopher Karlsrud, 18, of New York City as lead guitarist; Geraldo Parrilla, 17, of New Haven, Conn., vocalist; Jesse Rubin, 17, of Monroe, drummer; Justin Flammia, 17, of Yonkers, bassist; and Matt Levinson, 18, of Brooklyn, rhythm guitarist. “We play melodic death metal with elements of hardcore and grindcore,” says Chris. (Intense!) Their biggest influences are At the Gates and The Black Dahlia Murder. It all started in school, when Chris and Geraldo asked Justin and Jesse to join. Matt, Chris’ friend from outside of school, was later added to the lineup as the second guitarist. Demovore has been together for just a few months now, but Geraldo promises, “The sky is the limit.” Silence the Feedback This hard rock band from Rockland County has been together since 2003. Although the lineup has changed throughout the years, “the music and energy has stayed the same,” said guitarist and singer Miles Strand, a 21-year-old from Spring Valley. The group started when Miles was looking for a singer for his unnamed band in high school. (And they say kids don’t do work in school. Pfft.) Then he met singer Mike DeModna, 19, of Chestnut Ridge. Together, with the addition of Alex Kouvatsos, 18, of Pomona on bass and Jason Van Pelt, 18, of Garnerville on drums, they created Silence the Feedback. They’ve been playing around Rockland County and New Jersey ever since. Their music is inspired by bands like Metallica, Living Colour, System of a Down, and Muse. Evazan Evazan can’t be categorized in one genre of music because it plays rock mixed with blues, pop, and even funk influences. The band has been rocking with its current members since May. Asked about their inspirations, Ralph Harden said, “This is a tough question because we don’t aspire to be like any specific band.” (Do I sense originality?) Although their songs do not fit any one mold because of their exposure to different influences, The Who, Queen, and even Snoop Dogg make it into their list of favorite artists. When writing their songs, the band members play around until something hits them, and each member provides tips for arranging the music. Evazan also changes songs when performing live. “This keeps them fresh to the dedicated listener,” Ralph said. The Mercury Letter (TML) The Mercury Letter (TML) hails from Warwick, and all its members are the bright young age of 16. When asked what genre of music their band plays, singer and guitarist Justin DiPierro hesitantly said rock. He then added, “I don’t think music should be labeled too deeply.” (Touché.) Justin, singer Ricky Aiello, and guitarist Gani Parrott started TML while sitting in class one day. With the addition of drummer Nick Fortuna and bass player Russell Zintel, TML has been together for a solid six months and its members look forward to competing in the battle of the bands. “Winning is not a big deal to us,” Justin said. “We’re going out there to put on a great show.” (Fingers crossed.)