by Emma Grove

A young rock band will be performing at a music festival in the county town after getting through an audition.
Sheppey classic rock band Dead Reckonin’ took part in an audition at the Exchange Theatre in Maidstone for a place in Jam in the Park.
They competed against 18 other acts from around Kent and were chosen to be one of 11 bands and solo artists who will perform at the festival, which takes place in Brenchley Gardens, Maidstone, on August 8.
Dead Reckonin’ is fronted by 20-year-old Ruth Rogers , from Minster.
The lead guitarist is Ryan Hills , 16, from Eastchurch; 16-year-old James Barber from Sheerness is bass guitarist; rhythm guitarist Tom Hook , 16, from Sheerness; and Richard Francis , 16, from Minster, is the drummer.
The band take their influences from AC/DC, Guns N’ Roses and Iron Maiden.
At the audition they performed Run to the Hills by Iron Maiden and AC/DC’s Whole Lotta Rosie.
Judges awarded points for performance, choice of songs, audience engagement, band image and character, and Dead Reckonin’ made it through. At the festival in August, the band will get a 25-minute slot to perform, and they hope to showcase some of their own material, which they have just started writing.
Band member Ryan said: “We were hoping we would get through. We found out we had last week and we are all really looking forward to it.
“We are really enjoying ourselves and we want as many people as possible to come to Maidstone and see us at Jam in the Park.”
uE06E Dead Reckonin’ is performing at The Castle pub in Sheerness on Saturday from 8pm. To find out more about the band and their upcoming gigs, visit www.myspace.com/deadreckonin2008