A long December trip to Rock Hill, S.C., left the Colonels onlywanting more.

“It is time to take it to the next level,” keyboardist MarvinCurtis said.

The five-man Brookhaven band got a taste of success when theyplaced in a three-way tie during regional competition in theColgate Country Showdown on Saturday.

However, Karla Davis, representing both North Carolina and SouthCarolina, took the title and will be heading to Nashville, Tenn.,for national competition and a chance at $100,000.

Kentucky’s Andrew Scott Newton was also a contender in thethree-way tie.

Curtis said they were the only band in the competition and thatthere was also a duo, but competition remained stiff among the soloartists. The Colonels performed their two singles “Nothing Left toLose” and “Brighter Day.”

Though dismayed by the abrupt but decisive loss after tying itup, the Colonels felt they played their best.

“It felt like it was flawless,” lead vocalist Topher Brown said.”At no point did anything feel like it was forced.”

“For a crowd that did not know us, by the time the songs wereover, we had them (the audience) in the palm of our hand,” Curtissaid of the nearly 600 in attendance.

Drummer Brett Hart believed the group did their absolute bestbut felt a little tinge of self-disappointment.

” (It) felt like we let many people down, but we know we did thebest we could do,” Hart said.

Jessica Curtis, Marvin’s wife, said this was their bestperformance she had ever seen and even cried afterward.

“That performance proved they have what it takes,” Curtis said.”I told my husband that if y’all don’t win it is because it is notGod’s time.”

Perhaps the experience, though disheartening at first, has madethe band even hungrier for success.

“This has definitely put a fire under them,” she said

The experience and long trip was not at all considered aloss.

“Some of the compliments we got was worth the trip,” Brownsaid.

Marvin Curtis said they were approached by shocked spectatorsafter the panel of four judges’ decision had been made.

Even local WRHI-107 radio station representative Chris Millereven approached some of the members and B-92 sponsor of theColonels Robert Gooch and told them that they should have won theregionals. Two out of the four judges also told them they believedthe title belonged to their efforts and output.

“(You) could tell they were really wanting it and you could tellby the crowd’s reaction they deserved it,” Gooch said about theirperformance.

Brown said it blew their local and state level performances awayso much so that “it was uncanny.”

But it is not over for the band. The Colgate competition has notdeliberated the Colonels’ destiny. If anything it has inspired themto work harder than ever before. To play harder. To striveharder.

“Next, we keep working, keep writing, keep gigging. We’re aworking band,” Charlie Townsend, vocalist and rhythm guitarist,said.


Brown expects their new album featuring 10 of their songs tohopefully be out and ready come April and if he had it his way byMarch.

The group’s next big performance is a New Year’s Eve celebrationat Reed Pierce’s in Byram.

A video of their performance in Rock Hill will soon be posted upon their Web sites at MySpace, ReverbNation and Facebook.