MOORPARK : Amateur Band Festival Draws Youth Applause

High on the rhythm, 15-year-old Shantel Crawford used one word to describe East County Music Festival ‘95, designed to showcase local bands and give teen-agers something to do.

“Cool,” the Moorpark High School sophomore said. Without the event, sponsored by the city of Moorpark and the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District, she would have been at home hanging out with her friends.

About 100 teen-agers attended the third annual event at Arroyo Vista Community Park on Saturday.

Jeromy Stone, 19, a student at Moorpark College and lead guitarist of the band Separation, said the festival gives beginning bands like his the chance to perform before their peers.

“This is awesome,” he said. “This is our first gig and there are not very many places to play out here.”

Stone’s band sold homemade recordings of their music--which they had stayed up all night to tape--to a handful of fans.

“They’re so rad,” said Rachel Linder, a 16-year-old sophomore at Moorpark High School.

Throughout the day, six local bands--three made up of local high school students--played while teen-agers slam-danced, slurped snow cones and ate pizza.

Although Army and Air Force recruiters were on hand--along with booths offering pamphlets on safe sex--the teen-agers appeared interested only in the sounds.

“We are here for the music,” said 13-year-old David Mitzenmacher of Chaparral MiddleSchool.

A handful of parents also attended.

“It’s great,” said Debi Crawford, Shantel’s mother. “It gives the kids something to do to stay out of trouble.”