Cleveland, OH (Top40 Charts/
National Association of
Music Merchants) - No strangers to outshining the competition, top executives from Chesapeake
Energy stole the spotlight in a new way on Saturday, when their company-sponsored band, "Shale Play," earned the title of the world's "Best Corporate Band" at the 10th annual Fortune
Battle of the Corporate Bands, presented by the
National Association of
Music Merchants (NAMM) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "Shale Play" competed against seven other corporate bands from around the world, selected in earlier regional semi-final events held in Las
Vegas and Nashville, Tenn.
The judges panel included prominent musician and record producer Alan Parsons; American rock drummer and former member of Billy Joel's band, Liberty DeVitto; Making Music magazine editor-in-chief Antoinette Follett; and director of marketing and communications for NAMM, Scott Robertson.
"NAMM is seeing a major trend nationwide with more companies than ever putting money behind an unusual employee perk - the corporate rock band," said Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM, and a life-long drummer. "Corporations are seeing big results from recreational music making, with a positive impact on the bottom line and employee morale. Gone are the days of thinking that inspiration only comes from the boardroom. NAMM applauds these progressive companies and their talented, and happier, unexpected musicians."
NAMM has found that recreational music making has been scientifically proven to help the U.S. workplace by reducing employee stress, depression and burnout, while improving employee retention. By engaging in recreational music making, employees enjoy better morale, thus allowing companies to reduce turnover, saving them millions.
Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands is a partnership between NAMM (the trade association of the international music products industry), Fortune magazine, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The event is also generously sponsored by Gibson and Air Products. The national competition celebrates the positive effects of making music, which has been shown to increase employee morale and productivity in the workplace. Event proceeds benefit the Rock Hall's educational programs.
An Oklahoma City-based band, "Shale Play" is an eclectic mix of pop and rock. Made up of five Chesapeake Energy employees, their music features powerful vocals with confidently executed instrumentation.
The additional seven Fortune Battle of the Corporate Bands finalists were selected from a total of 30 entries battling in regional competitions across the country. Second and third place went to "D7" of Allied World Assurance Company and "The Nuisance" of Hinshaw & Culbertson, respectively.
Winners in the "Best of" categories were as follows:
Best Bass Player - Chuck Hanley, "Title 14," GE Aviation
Best Drummer - Tom Brodeur, "Pete Dale & The Dealmakers," BTI Systems
Best Guitarist - Ryan Schisler, "Underpaid," ITelligence
Best Horn Player - Daryl Wagner, "DaVita Blues All Stars," DaVita
Best Keyboardist - Orlando Luckey, "Title 14,"GE Aviation
Steve Eck Memorial Best Vocalist Award - Katy Igarta, "Shale Play," Chesapeake Energy
Additionally, "Unrestricted Entity" of Deloitte Consulting was a finalist.
