Shoot for Roots: Sven Gamsky (left on guitar), Cole Leksan (middle on drums), and Jack Morris (right on bass), Campolinda seniors Photo Andy Scheck

LaBORinda; BORaga; BORinda. Lamorinda teenagers have long bemoaned the lack of nearby entertainment and recreational opportunities. Here is where Lamorinda Teen Center Inc. comes in. This organization puts on events for locals to attend and enjoy, especially the teenagers. Their most recent event, Battle of the Bands, was held on Friday September 18th at the Moraga Commons.
The Battle of the Bands featured five different bands whose members are all local high school students performing a set of their own original songs. The five bands performing were Plastic Patriots, Shoot for Roots, Magnet for Madness, IceBox Business, and Dear Sincerely. Entrance was a mere $2 and the Lamorinda Teen Center was able to book Loard's Ice Cream, Jamba Juice, and Berkeley's famous Top Dog to provide food at the event. In addition, all attendees were given a raffle ticket and at the end of the show they raffled off items such as restaurant gift certificates and a basketball signed by the Golden State Warriors.
Although the food and prizes were fun features during the event, the main attraction was the performance by our astounding local teenage bands. Each band exhibited their own original music and lyrics and performed on stage in front of a crowd that filled the lawn hill in the Commons. As the event's name implies, the Battle of the Bands was a competition as well. Upon entrance everyone was given a ballot on which one could vote for their favorite performance. The winning band would receive an acoustic guitar and a large trophy provided by Guitar Center.
Once all the bands had performed, the votes were tallied and the result was as dramatic as could be. Of the hundreds of votes, Campolindo's Shoot for Roots and Miramonte's IceBox Business finished in a tie. To decide the victor, in true Battle of the Bands format, a sound meter was used as a tiebreaker; Miramonte vs. Campolindo in a competition of pure enthusiasm and energy. In the end, Shoot for Roots' fans were louder with a mind-blowing cheer of 116 decibels.
Shoot for Roots consists of Cole Leksan on guitar, drums, and bass, Jack Morris on guitar, drums, and bass, and Sven Gamsky on guitar and bass. After accepting the awards with the band, Leksan described the feeling when the fans rocked the Commons with their cheering. "It was sort of overwhelming hearing all of their cheers, but it was definitely satisfying to see their enjoyment of our music." And regarding the event in general he remarked that, "Gigs like the Battle of the Bands give great recognition throughout Lamorinda and allow high school kids to hear the local music."
For Lamorinda Teen Center Inc. the Battle of the Bands was another successful event not just because it provided great entertainment for a Friday evening but also because of the money raised. The organization has hosted many events in order to raise money to achieve their ultimate goal. Student leader Austin Controulis stated, "The goal is to establish a fun and safe location for teens to listen to music, play games, and just hang out. We are trying to create entertainment opportunities with our events while using the proceeds and donations to fund this ultimate goal of a Teen Center."
Make sure to check out the Lamorinda Teen Center website, http://lamoteencenter.org, for further information. On MySpace music, many of the bands that performed have a page with samples of their songs, background about the band, and pictures.