March 30, 2012 11.21 am This story is over 156 months old

Local band hopes to beat rivals at Lincoln competition

Tough competition: Lincolnshire act Bear Makes Ninja tells The Lincolnite all about what they’re up against in a city music competition.

When Bear Makes Ninja head to Lincoln as part of their UK tour, it won’t just be any normal gig: they’ll be playing their hearts out to win this year’s Aurora Promotions Battle of the Bands competition.

The event is a big occasion for musicians in the area, with the sheer number of acts taking part in the early stages meaning competition is fierce and varied.

Sleaford-based Bear Makes Ninja have a good record for impressing onstage, with a spring-loaded Biffy Clyro and Nirvana-indebted sound, making them a favourite with many a rock connoisseur. The band is one of the acts now left in the finals of the competition.

James Palmer, vocalist and guitarist in the three-piece, said: “We had no idea we would get in to the finals because every band this year is so different. I wouldn’t know where to start as a judge!”

Also taking part in the battle on April 7 at the Duke of Wellington on Broadgate are The Red, Out Of Exile and TecTona, fighting for a grand prize of £1,000. Despite the worthy opposition, Palmer isn’t feeling concerned about the night.

“We are pretty confident on how we have been playing together, but that really means nothing at this stage as all the bands will be feeling confident in themselves and that just makes for an even more exciting night,” he added.

Palmer says the prize money would be excellent help in recording their debut album, due later this year, but in the end there are more important things to him and his bandmates: “We just love to play live, wherever and whenever we can.

“The fact that it is a competition comes second to building our fan-base, making friends with fellow bands and helping promote the local music scene.”

On their travels the band are also wowing crowds in Bath, Blackburn, Edinburgh and Glasgow. A full list available on their Facebook page, where they are also keeping a tour diary so you can see how they do in Lincoln and the rest of the country.

Finally, wondering where the band name came from? The name Bear Makes Ninja is actually an anagram of the band members’ names: Ben, James and Karina.