Las Vegas Weekly

Extreme Thing finalizes lineup

And She Whispered selected to headline XPOZ Local Band stage

And She Whispered will be performing on the XPOZ Local Band stage at Extreme Thing 2010.

Extreme Thing has announced the final lineup for its March 27 festival, including seven up-and-coming local bands selected through the month-long Battle of the Fans held at Area 702 Skatepark.

Joining headliners The Used, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish, Story of the Year and Vegas-bred Escape the Fate on the main stage at the sports-and-music festival will be Five Finger Death Punch, The Bled and The Ready Set. The bands are replacing cancellations by Sum 41, Winds of Plague and I Fight Dragons.

Headlining XPOZ's Local Band Stage is And She Whispered, who not so much whispered but screamed away its 32 competitors at the Battle of the Fans. The hardcore group scored 209 votes. Power-punk band The Afterparty came in second with 129 votes. Completing the line-up of seven local bands, in descending order by votes, are: The Murder Ballad, Sanity is Lost, A Fight at Daybreak, Otherwise and In Shadows Embrace.

The Battle of the Fans competition, sponsored by XPOZ Coalition was held Fridays and Saturdays throughout February at Area 702 Skatepark and was decided strictly by fan votes. More than 2,000 votes were cast. And She Whispered vocalist and guitarist Tyler Simmons says his band sought help from family, friends, family friends and anyone else they could convince to sell tickets and bring out the vote.

Still, the outcome surprised. "I didn't think it would be that overwhelming," he concedes.

None of the seven local bands appearing on the XPOZ stage have played at Extreme Thing before, a rule implemented for the first time during this year's competition. Malcolm Ahlo of XPOZ explains that one of the purposes of the competition is to help less-established local bands gain exposure. (The local organization's main objective is to reduce the prevalence of tobacco among youth.)

Simmons is a rarity among the contestants, having played Extreme Thing with former band Val-halla two years ago. He's also only 16 years old, though he'll be 17 at the time of the festival at Desert Breeze Skate Park. Happy early birthday, Tyler. Hope you're ready to rock.