Tom Lynch

Lollapalooza was the prize.

Cincinnati's slick-rock foursome the Cathedrals have been given their chance at superstardom. A local battle of the bands, a multi-round affair, courted several underground rock acts looking for a shot at the big stage--Grant Park, Chicago.

"It was the easiest thing we ever had to do," says Derek Ruch, bassist for the "eighties-inspired indie" band, who Ruch describes as sounding like early-era U2. "We played at the Madison theater [in Ohio] last month, and we played in the competition. We went into it like it was just another show. We ended up winning that, and we felt weird about it at first, because we're considered an indie band, like DIY."

The Cathedrals catalogue of shows include opening slots in Ohio for The Killers, The Arcade Fire and Stellastarr*. The band---all members are in their early twenties---has been together for nearly two years, but has never toured nor officially released a record. At press time, the Cathedrals are unsigned.

"I'm very confident in our music," says Ruch. "We'll hold our own. We've been working our asses off. We have a forty-five minute set, and that's pretty easy for us. We're just hoping something happens--we've been trying to get out of Cincinnati for a while. The scene there in general is kind of like...people tend to rip on other people. It's really frustrating."

Ruch, who's most excited about catching the Pixies, The Arcade Fire and VHS vs. Beta sets, says the band isn't too nervous. "We've played a lot of shows, and the bigger shows tend to be less stressful. I mean, we're all pretty excited, so we're a little nervous."

Cathedrals plays July 24 at 11:45am.

(2005-07-21)

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