Of Gentlemen and Cowards wins spot on Letterman

Results are in: McMaster band Of Gentlemen and Cowards is headed to an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman in mid-September.

After voting closed just before midnight on August 7, the group appeared to be in the lead, but had to wait until Monday's announcement for official results. And Given how back-and-forth the battle for first was on the final voting day between Of Gentlemen and Cowards and Virginia group Aaron Crawford and the Badcards, it could have gone either way.

“I’m a massive mix of overwhelmed, nervous and excited,” said front man Simon Edwards before official results were released.

Edwards will join fellow students and bandmates Josh Dawson, Christian Fedele and Jake Warren for the New York show.

It began in the spring, when Of Gentlemen and Cowards spotted the contest on SonicBids.com, a music social media platform that connects bands with promoters, festivals and other opportunities.

The competition was for a chance to get their music into We Made This Movie, which is currently in production. Rob Burnett, who is the CEO of the Late Show with David Letterman’s production company Worldwide Pants, is the film’s director. They submitted their song “Save Me” to be considered for the soundtrack.

Out of over 1200 applications from an international pool of bands, the McMaster boys were selected as one of 24 finalists in the We Made This Movie Music Contest. They were then chosen as one of the four winners, which guaranteed their song a spot in the film. A secondary contest for one of finalists to play on the Letterman show followed, and Of Gentlemen and Cowards found themselves in a neck-and-neck battle for first.

“We kind of threw everything we had into this campaign,” said Edwards. “We play a lot of charity shows around campus, and we try to do as many free things and favours for people as we can. Here’s where we’re really hoping to cash on those,” he said.

The campaign received support from a number of McMaster organizations, as well as coverage in the Hamilton Spectator, CBC Hamilton and AM900, to name a few.

“We couldn’t be happier with the response we’ve gotten,” said Edwards.