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Taking Aim at younger crowd
Published 7:05pm Sunday, July 11, 2010By AARON MUELLER
Niles Daily Star
Cort Hullinger hopes his band doesn’t scare away all the older people who come out to the hill at the Riverfront Amphitheater when they take the stage Thursday night as part of the summer concert series.
Hullinger, a Niles resident, said concert goers can expect a more youthful style of music from Take Aim, a five-piece band that covers a variety of popular music from the 1980s to songs topping the charts today.
The band consists of Hullinger (guitar and vocals), Jim Whitmer (guitar and vocals), Jeff Trotter (bass and vocals) and Paul Filipek (drums), but it’s the girl who really runs the show.
Aim Bennett may look like a shy girly girl, but don’t let the looks and the high-pitched voice fool you.
Hullinger said she has a powerful, raspy singing voice that lends itself from everything from AC/DC to Taylor Swift to Guns n’ Roses.
“She absolutely kills on ‘Sweet Child of Mine,’” Hullinger said.
All of the band members have their own taste in music, which means they cover a wide variety of artists.
“I’m a rock guitar player from the 70s and 80s,” Hullinger said. “Paul is from a punk background. Jeff is into heavy, heavy stuff. Jim plays the 70s and 80s stuff. And Aim is the girl that gets out and sings karaoke all the time when she’s not playing with the band.”
Those coming to the concert Thursday evening can expect covers of a smorgasbord of artists, including Katy Perry, Blink 182, Lady Gaga, Led Zeppelin, Elvis, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others.
The band prides itself on playing the tunes note for note and not altering the songs much.
“We sound like what you hear on the radio,” Hullinger said. “(Aim) can nail pretty much anybody’s singing style.”
All of the band members have jobs and families, so they only book a few shows per month, usually at venues in the Michiana area.
The biggest gig Take Aim has landed so far was the St. Patrick’s Day Tent Party in South Bend this year, an event that drew 6,000 people.
The band loves to get the crowd involved with the show, inviting people on stage to sing and dance.
“We just like to see a lot of people having fun,” Hullinger said.
For more information on the band, check out www.myspace.com/takeaimrocks.
