After Math from Austin, Texas Wins First Annual SchoolJam USA National Teen ‘Battle of the Bands’ | Wanna Play Music

From the classroom to the
main stage, teen band After Math from Austin, Texas was crowned the national
winner of the first annual SchoolJam USA competition presented by the National
Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) at the 2010 NAMM Show on Saturday. After
Math competed against nine other top teen bands at the Anaheim Convention
Center and received the first place award-a trophy in the shape of a platinum
album-and the grand prize trip to Europe next March to perform at the
international 2010 SchoolJam finals in Frankfurt, Germany. In addition, the
band received $5,000 for their school music programs. Each of the other nine
finalist bands were also awarded with cash and other prizes for their bands and
their school music programs.

A unique teen ‘battle of the bands', SchoolJam
USA rewards both aspiring music makers and their respective school music
programs with support and funding. SchoolJam USA features amateur bands of teen
musicians between the ages of 13 and 18, with the top bands selected through a
nationwide online voting system. After launching in late summer 2009, SchoolJamUSA.com received more than 200
applications from middle and high school students eager to showcase their
talent and earn much-needed support for their school's music programs. Based on
open voting online that resulted in more than 115,000 votes, America selected
the top 10 finalists to compete at SchoolJam USA. This year's top teen finalists hail from
more than 20 U.S. cities, including Santa Cruz, Calif., St. Louis, Mo. and
Washington, D.C.

"SchoolJam
USA provides a great avenue for teens to express their passion for music and
dedication to keeping music education programs a part of their schools," said
Joe Lamond, president and CEO of NAMM. "Teen bands across the country are
helping to create awareness for the importance of music making in their lives.
SchoolJam USA lets teens showcase their music making talents in a unique
competition that gets everyone-family, friends and schools-involved in a
positive way."

After
Math was crowned the winner of SchoolJam USA by a panel of judges including:
Michael Blakeslee from MENC
(National Association for Music Education), Steve Dobo from Rock & Roll
Hall of Fame and Museum, Dominic Pohlman from SchoolJam Germany, Rob Davidson
from VH1 Save The Music Foundation, and Louie Bandak, Director of A&R at
Interscope Records.

Other awards presented at the
SchoolJam USA finals include: second place award to Crimson Fire from Northern
New Jersey, and third place award to Power Pirate from Washington D.C. In
addition, specific band members were recognized for their talents in the
following "Best Of" categories:

Best Vocals: Rachel Thompson of After Math
Best Guitar: Emily Pakulski of Power Pirate and Dustin Belanger of After Math
Best Bass: Livvy Bennett of After Math
Best Drummer: Richard
Schaafsma of Crimson Fire and Tony Pepper of The
Switchfits
Best Keyboard: Michael Garate of Power Pirate

Prizes for the "Best Of" awards were
provided by NAMM Member Companies Godin Guitars, Kelly Concepts, and Yamaha
Corporation of America. Additionally, a "Fan Favorite" award was given to the
band Dance Over Anaheim from Colorado Springs, Co, which received more than
6,000 text message votes for that category during the finals competition.