MAMM SLAM

2012 MAMM SLAM winner: The Veayo Twins

The Veayo Twins
Kristen Veayo, Hall-Dale High School [guitar, vocals]; Katherine Veayo, Hall-Dale High School [drums, keys, vocals]

On April 28th, The Veayo Twins, a local duo with sweet vocal harmonies and keyboard, guitar and drum skills, WON the 2012 MAMM SLAM - Maine's High School Rock Off, at Asylum. This dynamic duo beat out 11 other bands for $1000 in cash, recording time, gigs, studio tours and TV and radio appearances. Katherine Veayo also won Best Alternate Instrument: Keyboard!

"Winning MAMM SLAM helped boost my confidence and has made my passion for music blossom," states Katherine Veayo. "It's made me more confident about myself, my music and my artistic ability and makes me more determined than ever to follow my dream of being a well known musician," adds Kristen Veayo.

The Veayo Twins' easy listening acoustic set heavily emphasizes original melodies that revolve around relationships, life experiences, and overcoming obstacles. The sisters and their music are in a national documentary film called "Bullied To Silence," which premiered on April 16th at The Boston International Film Festival. Gigs includes the Jonas Brothers softball challenge in New Britain Stadium, New York City's historic Webster Hall, Patriots Place at Gillette Stadium, and Boston's Hard Rock Cafe. Kristen & Katherine have opened for Nashville's Grammy award winning country rock band, Emerson Drive. They have been featured on CBS TV, Fox TV, 92Moose, WKIT, and WTOS radio shows. For more, go to TheVeayoTwins.com.

"Katherine and Kristen have been working very hard for a number of years and it definitely shows. It was a very close competition this year, and the girls' hard work really paid off," says Jeff Shaw, executive director and founder of MAMM.

Individual Awards
Best Guitarist: Kyle Richardson, Saint Monday (South Portland High School)
Best Bassist: Antonio Macomber, The Stolen Mural (Casco Bay High School, Portland)
Best Drummer: Drew Harmon, The Stolen Mural (Scarborough, Cheverus)
Best Singer: Nate Harvey, Beware of Pedestrians (Gorham, Waynflete)
Best Alternate Instrument: Keyboard: Katherine Veayo, The Veayo Twins (Hall Dale High School)

Check out this MAMM Slam video from the prelims, with interviews by Claire Jeffers and Robert Smith and photos by Alexander Kreher.

Congrats to all the participating bands:

Beware of Pedestrians
Nate Harvey, Waynflete High School [lead vocals, rhythm guitar]; Ben Bergeron, Scarborough High School [lead guitar, backing vocals]; Greg Farrington, Gorham High School [drums]; Jake Bergeron, Scarborough Middle School [bass guitar]
Saint Monday
Andrew Hunter, South Portland High School [bass, vocals]; Kyle Richardson, South Portland High School [guitar]; Ryan Howard, South Portland High School [vocals, trombone]; Izaak Onos, South Portland High School [drums]
False Consensus
Odie DeSmith, Yarmouth High School [guitar, vocals]; Graham Brant, Yarmouth High School [keyboards, vocals]; Sam Rouda, Yarmouth High School [drums]; Ben Waterman, Yarmouth High School [guitar, bass, drums, saxophone]
The Stolen Mural
Antonio Macomber, Casco Bay High School [bass, synth]; Drew Harmon, Cheverus High School drums]; Henry Coxe, Falmouth High School [guitars, synth, backing vocals]; Lyndsay Lombardi, South Portland High School [vocals, synth]; Sebastian Andrew, Casco Bay High School [guitar, synth, backing vocals] The Twisted Truth
Jacob Guay, South Portland High School [drums]; Jack Melcher, Casco Bay High School [guitar]; Samson Martin, Portland High School [vox, bass]; A.J. Romano [guitar, vox]


Audacious Zone
Mitchel Gosselin, Erskine Academy [guitar, vocals]; Simon Rollins, Erskine Academy [percussion]; Nicholas Goedecke, Erskine Academy [bass guitar]
Jimmy the Ratman
Elliot Nye, Waynflete High School [drums, back-up vocals]; Toby Nye, Waynflete High School [guitar, vocals]
Parenthesys
Mac Libby, Windham High School [bass, keys, vocals, kazoo]; Glen Turcotte, Windham High School [guitar, vocals, kazoo]; Travis Grant, Windham High School [guitar, vocals, kazoo]; Nick Dorr, Windham High School [drums, other percussion, kazoo]
Radioactive Gorilla Attack
Jack Schwartz, Portland High School [guitar, vocals]; Samson Martin, Portland High School [bass, vocals]; Joanna Quinn, Portland High School [drums]
Shotgun Resolution
Jack Schwartz, Portland High School [guitar, vocals]; Andrew Schwartz, Portland High School [drums]; Leonard Schwartz, University of Massachusetts Amherst [bass]