A spin off of American Idol, this latest reality show from FOX features hopeful bands in a competition to find the best!

I enjoyed the music the most last night, and what’s not to love about watching Johnny Rzeznik for two hours?! Rzeznik is joined by Shelia E and Dicko, from Australian Idol fame, as judges for the show. I had to appreciate the honesty of the judging and critiques – they told the bands exactly what they needed to hear without sugar coating or condescending. It was a refreshing change from the usual bickering tone of judging we get between Paula and Simon!!

Here’s a few tidbits about each band making it through to the next round:

1. Trés Bien – A group of four mop heads with a heavy 60′s influence. These kids had a Beatles meet the Stones meet the Doors sound and were actually pretty decent for a Pop Band.

2.. Light Of Doom – who would imagine that the sounds of heavy metal could be achieved so easily by a group of 12 and 13 year olds. These kids made making awesome music look ..well .. like child’s play. My only concerns are can they live through the stress of the competition. AND – if they win – will the be able to make multi-million dollar records?

3. The Hatch – another Pop Rock style band – these guys have a great sound and an awesome look! The lead is movie star gorgeous and should make all the little girls swoon when they listen to the sounds.

4. The Clark Brothers – growing up in a family of ELEVEN kids, the brothers admitted to being part of a large family “revival” band for and evangelic crowd. Their music obviously falls into the Christian Rock genre – being pretty cute kids – they should be a big hit with the conservative crowd. Question is … do Evangelic Christians watch Rock shows?

5. Dot Dot Dot – one of my personal favorites – I always root for the freakier/punk bands. They have a fantastic sound, and actually had the look of a complete band. They’re very marketable as a group – with two girls playing lead and bass guitar. Pop rock – think Depeche Mode when you listen to these guys.

6. The Muggs – self proclaimed as the ugliest band in rock – this band out of Detroit is very good musically. I’m not 100% convinced I love the vocals – having a nasally Bob Dillon/Eric Clapton sound. The group has a great story of friendship – one of the band members had a stroke and the other band members put everything on hold until he had recovered enough to rejoin the group.

7. Denver and The Mile High Orchestra – Big Band swing, this band definitely wins the award for having the most members. While their sound was better than some of the others we heard last night, I have heard much better Big Bands. Diko commented that the lead wasn’t as “handsome” and lacked the “Big Personality” other Big Band leaders have, and expressed concern that this might hold the group back in the competition.

8. SixWire – a Country Band with a handsome lead – who reminds me a lot of Josh Holloway. I’m not into Country music as much, but the group had a fantastic sound and should represent the genre well in the competition.

9. Cliff Wagner and the Old Seven – This group is definitely VERY talented. They had the best performance of the night – BUT – they’re a Bluegrass Band. Whens the last time you ran out to purchase the latest Bluegrass CD? The judges advanced the group to the next round with hopes that they’ll be able to handle the themed weeks – adapting the more modern songs to fit into their Bluegrass sound. It will definitely be interesting to see.

10. The Likes Of You – The show producers for some reason chose not to show the complete song from this group – featuring only some wicked falsetto vocals of the lead singer. I’ve nicknamed him screech-man – as I really have no other way to judge the band. The judges seem to like the band .. I’ll have to wait and see.

11. Franklin Bridge – This is the band to watch! While the lead’s vocals were pretty shaky – you can tell once the nerves settle he is going to be AWESOME. The band certainly knows how to play, and their sound is unique enough to make me take a listen again. If they can get the viewers behind them – they could win the competition. My only fear is the “popularity” factor of these shows … will the group be able to win the hearts of America? I sure hope so!

12. Rocket - as Dicko said, this band doesn’t have the most talent, or the hottest members, but being an all girl band is certainly a marketable feature. I enjoyed their performance … but could hear the girls have a lot of work ahead of them. We all want a girl band to succeed – to stem the stereotype that girls can’t Rock! So I’ve got my fingers crossed they will get it together enough to make it through a few rounds.

Now … onto my personal peeve of last nights show. There was one band that the judges decided to give a second chance to – Northmont. The lead singer had the most AMAZING voice – and his stage presence was spot on! I thought the band as a whole did well .. even better than a few of the others that made it to the next round. Yet, the judges felt that the band was holding the lead singer back. Dicko even went as far as saying he’d love to snag the lead from this band, and put him to front another of the bands, and form an amazing super group that would make millions! The really sad thing, is that this was the last hope for the band. They had said if they didn’t succeed here they’d give up their musical dreams and return to real life. That above all else had me in tears – because that lead singer really was phenomenal. It’s a waste of talent!

I’ll be following the show weekly – and I hope that you guys will follow along as well. It will keep me happy until American Idol comes on again! I’m picking Franklin Bridge to win it all .. with Dot Dot Dot and The Hatch following close behind. I’ll be watching The Likes Of You more and hope we actually get to hear them next week.

UPDATE: After speaking with several of the bands, I’m excited to announce that I’ll also be featuring the bands in my Sounds of Sunday article over the next 8-12 weeks {depends on who gives me permission to post their tunes}. I’m looking forward to taking a more in-depth look into their sounds and what makes up the bands! Talk about an educated vote – people – you must stay tuned and read all about ‘em here!!