Dammien Alexander @ CMW 2006

Hometown: Halifax, NS

Background/Composition: Soulful (mainly) acoustic rock.

Grade: 68
Comment: Dammien Alexander's a little sloppy at times, but his vocal style is warm and engaging.

Achievement of Rock 'n' Roll Expectations
80-100: Exceeds skill and knowledge expectations, i.e. rocked us so hard we peed our pants.
70-79: Achieves required skills and knowledge. Meets rock 'n' roll standard.
60-69: Demonstrates some skills. Approaches rock 'n' roll standard.
50-59: Demonstrates some required skills and knowledge in a limited way.
00-50: Has not demonstrated required skills or knowledge.

Learning Skills: E=Excellent, G=Good, S=Satisfactory, N=Sad Really

Oral And Visual Communication
Eye Contact: E 
Pronounciation: E
Stage Presence: G
Stage Banter: G
Image: S
Appearance: S
Use Of Stage: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step: Alexander is an American ex-pat from Philadelphia who moved to Halifax on a basketball scholarship and settled there. He started off the set acoustically and eventually brought up a backing band. He was wearing cheesy aviator glasses, but he had some bad-ass white vintage-looking loafers. But overall, he looked like he had dressed for a sales conference. Lose the blazer and checked shirt, dude.

Musical Analysis
Level Of Participation: G
Problem Solving: G
Teamwork: S
Work Habits: G
Organization: S
Audience Participation: S
Sound: S
Composition: G
Songs: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step: Alexander's lyrics were solid and he's got a great voice. When he's playing acoustic, he's got a Hayden Neale (Jacksoul) thing going on, and when he's plugged in and rocking out, he sounds like a declawed Danko Jones. Alexander's got a good range, and when he's not belting it out, he's working a clipped, Ani Difranco spoken-word type of delivery. Unfortunately, Alexander never quite got his acoustic guitar fully in tune and the band had some sloppy moments (the bass player could be seen and heard tentatively testing out chords during one song until he stumbled upon the correct combination).

Other Skills And Areas Of Interest
Charisma: G
Problem Solving: G
Teamwork: S
Sexiness: G
Haircut: G
Indie Rock Footwear: G
Nods To Disposible Fashion: S
Cool Equipment: S
Level Of Inebriation: G
Actual Ability: G
Strengths/Weaknesses/Next Step: He's a good songwriter, but needs to work more on the instrumentation part.