Teens and tunes

Suffering from those summertime blues already?

If you're a teenager in a rural Missouri community, chances are, those nothing-to-do blues are in full swing by now.

The Sheldon teen center, a project of the Vernon County Youth Task Force, hopes to combat that problem by finding a productive way for teens to spend the summer.

Still in the early stages of organization, the task force is hoping that this teen center will give Sheldon teens a place to gather, have fun, and meet to plan activities to other places. According to Lisa Whitaker, chairperson for the Sheldon Teen Center, "The teen center, which started in November by the Vernon County Youth Task Force, pinpointed a need for Sheldon teens to keep them out of trouble during off times."

The idea for the teen center was raised by Whitaker herself during a Task Force meeting. Since November, the Sheldon Teen Center's committee of the task force has being planning events to raise money for matching grant monies. The funds from the grant would go toward constructing a new building in Sheldon to house the center. The vision of the center, according to Whitaker, is "to have activities weekly for the teens to stay busy with. We planned a trip to joplin on New Year's Eve and that was a success. We want to do more but transportation is a hindering factor. We just don't have the funds available to pay for buses to get the teens to activities."

In a move that Whitaker hopes will meet a two-fold goal -- offering something fun for teens and raising money to fund center activities -- the center is hosting a Battle of the Bands contest.

Contests like these have been around for generations, and teens from the area will have their chance to take part in the show.

The battle is comprised of local bands and are competing for a grand prize of a three hour professional recording session, donated by Facet Sound Recording Studio, of Joplin, Mo. All of the money raised will benefit the teen center in a building and activities fund.

The event will feature approximately nine bands that have committed to play and have agreed to have a hour-long jam session with all of the musicians playing together at the end of the event.

Good food will accompany the music, Whitaker said, adding, "The Bikers Against Child Abuse, have donated their grills and their gourmet expertise," to fix hamburgers and hot dogs. Non-alcoholic beverages also will be available. Ductape karaoke provided the equipment and will also serve as master of ceremonies.

"I think the public will have a great time. It is all local, teenage bands who play everything from country to Christian, to hard rock. There will be something for everyone."

The battle will take place on June 21 the Sheldon City Park-Community Building and Band Stand. Band registration is at noon and the battle will start at 1 p.m. Cost to enter is $25 per band to enter. The winner is chosen by purchasing tickets. Tickets cost $1 each and the band with the most tickets wins.