Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition 2006 (WLSC 2006): Prizes

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Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition
Local Talent Shines in the Spotlight
By Block Magazine's Jack Buehrer

Photo by Eric Lippe
Wall to wall at the finals at Galapagos Art Space.

Five minutes before night one of the second annual Williamsburg Live Songwriter Competition is set to begin inside Laila Lounge, Gabriel Levitt, the event's creator and promoter kneels at the base of the bar's tiny, postage stamp of a stage and explains the rules to that night's three-judge panel.

"Be honest," he tells the judges, made up of two major label talent scouts and yours truly. "That's the main thing. If they suck they suck."

More than two hours, and 25 mostly acoustic guitar-toting troubadours later, Levitt was singing a different tune.

"There was a lot of talent out there tonight," he beamed, to the agreement of the judges as they tallied up the points - the performers are judged on a scale of 1-5 in five categories including performance, songwriting ability and lyrics - for the evening's contestants. The contestants with the three highest point totals would move on to the 12-person final show 10 days later at Galapagos. "I can honestly say that nobody flat-out sucked," he continued. "They were really, really good."

It's nearly three weeks later and the competition has long since finished up its four-night run. Levitt, nursing a ginger ale on a stool in the empty Laila Lounge, still shakes his head in amazement when asked about the collective talent level of the 100 total performers, but admits he's already looking to next year.

	Photo by Judith Levitt
	Theo Eastwind claiming the stage at Galapagos.

"I was really impressed," he says. "The talent pool was phenomenal this year. I knew a lot of the (performers), so I knew what they could do and how good they were. But what surprised me was how good everyone, with a few exceptions, seemed to be. What's telling is that a lot of the finalists from last year didn't make the finals this year. I've gotten several requests from record labels for CDs from a lot of the performers. There's a lot of interest. The talent is that strong."

To Levitt, 35, the idea for the contest was born almost three years ago when he, a singer-songwriter himself, stumbled upon a karaoke night - a rarity in Williamsburg at that time - at none other than the Laila Lounge during a routine night of barhopping. Seeing an opportunity to create a name for himself in the area's music scene, he struck up a conversation with the bar's owner, Roni Platner, and suggested the idea of hosting an open-mic night. Platner agreed, and Levitt's original plan quickly morphed into a full-blown weekly showcase called, The Jezebel Music Wednesday Showcase, a name he pilfered from his own solo act.

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