Corporate Rock Battle of the Bands
Whooooo! Lehmannnnnn!
Who in the financial sector rocks harder than Lehman Brothers? Not Bank of America. Runnin’ Blue, the jazz-blues ensemble that represented the superbank at the Battle of the Corporate Bands at the Knitting Factory, was thrashed by the Fifth, made up of five Lehman employees (most from its Fixed Income Division). “We were shocked we won. We aren’t very good,” said bass player Ken Umezaki, while a company spokesperson listened in. The Fifth’s repertoire includes the Beatles’ “Here Comes the Sun” (“We do a Green Day version of that one”). In October they’ll face off against other regional champs, including Direct Connectors (Nextel) and Spurious Freedom (Texas Instruments), at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. “This is a pleasurable interview compared to what we’re normally quoted about,” said the spokesperson.
—E.R.