And on drums: the nuclear technician

Capital One employees practice for Sunday’s Battle of the Corporate Bands at The National. Images courtesy Firehouse Theatre.

Five of Richmond’s biggest corporations are giving new meaning to the term “corporate rock.”

Altria, Capital One, Dominion Resources, The Martin Agency and the aptly named WestRock are competing this Sunday in the inaugural “Battle of the Corporate Bands,” an event put on by Firehouse Theatre.

Bands made up of employees of each company will take the stage at The National to compete for the title of “Best Corporate Band.” The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m., with proceeds benefiting Firehouse Theatre.

A youth band from Mako Music School will also perform.

The five bands have been practicing for weeks in preparation for their first performance onstage together. They’ve taken names such as The Tobacco Beetles (Altria), Inur Wallet (Capital One), Class 5 (Dominion), Pork Chop Revival (The Martin Agency) and Glass House (WestRock).

No word on whether The Martin Agency’s group will do a cover of Europe’s “The Final Countdown.”

Joel Bassin, producing artistic director for Firehouse Theatre, said the idea for the event came from Dominion executive Dave Christian during a visit to the theater on West Broad Street.

“Out of the blue, he said: ‘Have you guys ever thought about doing a battle of the corporate bands?’ I went: ‘No, but it’s a brilliant idea,’” Bassin said. “That was the seed of it.”

Christian, the CEO of Dominion Virginia Power and its Energy Infrastructure Group, is signed on to play guitar in Class 5, which also includes senior LAN administrator Josh Crump on lead guitar and vocals, executive IT support specialist Steve Foster on bass and backup vocals, and nuclear technician Rob Green on drums.

Bassin said The Tobacco Beetles from Altria were already playing together when the theater reached out to area businesses and musicians. Other groups, like The Martin Agency’s and WestRock’s, were formed specifically for the event.

At WestRock, it was Christine Hale, the company’s corporate giving manager, who got the band together.

Dominion Resources’ Class 5.

“I really didn’t know what employees were musically inclined or had that talent, but I did know a couple of people,” she said. “I had coffee with a colleague here that I knew was a vocalist and pitched the idea to her. The next thing we knew, this thing just took off.

“It kind of caught us all by surprise. We were like: ‘We really have a band!’”

Fronting that band is Marybeth Ransdell, a procurement and vendor relations manager who has sung the National Anthem at Flying Squirrels games and Richmond International Raceway.

“We’ve only been playing together since March 8,” Ransdell said, adding that they’ve been practicing in pricing analyst Frank Hernandez’s basement.

“It’s been exciting to see our fellow colleagues respond. The chatter in the elevator – ‘Oh, I heard this is going on’ – is real exciting,” she said. “The people who are attending are really pumped about it.”

Glass House. Photo courtesy WestRock.

As a result, Ransdell and the rest of Glass House – Hernandez, export coordinator Lee Rickmond, marketing specialist Maddie Parrish, supply planning manager Tony Fox and commercial analyst Cedric Spratley – have become company rock stars, or better yet, WestRock-stars.

“It was kind of like the rumor mill churning within the office,” Hale said. “Folks were like, ‘What? WestRock has a band? Oh my gosh! I’m going. Are you going?’ It was really contagious.”

To involve other employees, the company held a naming contest for the band, raffling tickets to the show as prizes for employees who voted for a name. Options included “Foundry Fire,” a reference to the packaging company’s location in Foundry Park, “WestRockers,” “Westbound,” and “Pack That.”

“Glass House” won out – a reference to WestRock’s glass-paneled building downtown. The company even arranged for a publicity band photo on Brown’s Island, with the namesake building in the background.

“It’s been really fun to see the response,” Hale said, adding that the company set up a table at its cafeteria to sell tickets.

“We’re just really excited to compete,” she said. “Because of our support of the arts in the community and the competitive spirit of our employees here in Richmond, we just thought this would be a great opportunity to be involved.”

Capital One’s Inur Wallet.

Judging the bands will be Jamison Land, aka Beefcake the Mighty of local rock group GWAR; Beau Cribbs, host of local comedy show RVA Tonight; and additional surprise judges. Kat Simons of Mix 98.1 will serve as mistress of ceremonies, and a youth band from Mako Music School will also perform.

Doors open at The National at 6 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door for floor/standing and range from $40 to $75 for reserved seating in the balcony. All proceeds benefit Firehouse Theatre, and Bassin said future battles would likely see proceeds shared with local music schools or programs.

“This is the first time we’re doing it, so it’s been a big learning curve,” Bassin said. “But we’re having a great time.”

Full band lineups include:

• The Tobacco Beetles (Altria): George Adams (bass), Dame Billingsley (vocals), Jeff Cox (guitar), David Haller (guitar), Amy Henderson (guitar, harmonica), and Jessica Johnson (drums)
• Inur Wallet (Capital One): Rodney Baker (drums), Ed Cacho (timbales, congas), Jerome Cann (keyboard), Adam Hall (guitar, vocals), John Hudak (guitar), and Matt Reis (bass)
• Class 5 (Dominion Resources): Murray Blake (keyboard, guitar, vocals), Josh Crump (guitar, vocals), Steven Foster (bass, vocals), Rob Green (drums), Virginia O’Meara (vocals, guitar, percussion)
• Pork Chop Revival (The Martin Agency): Alex McCullum (guitar), Bob Meagher (dobro/banjo), Mike Emmons (lap steel), Justin Harris (drums), Zach Hudgins (stand up bass), Zack Miller (mandolin), Jan Nichols (guitar)
• Glass House (WestRock): Tony Fox (drums), Frank Hernandez (bass), Maddie Parrish (keyboard), Marybeth Ransdell (vocals, guitar), Lee Rickmond (guitar), and Cedric Spratley (vocals, guitar, keyboard).