Have you and your band ever dreamed of performing on the Saratoga Performing Arts Center stage? Until you can sell about 10,000 tickets, here’s your next-best bet. On May 21, SPAC will host a Battle of the Bands at the Spa Little Theatre as a part of the venue’s extended season. Ten finalists will be chosen to perform via public vote, based on YouTube audition videos (and an application form); winning acts will be selected by audience response at the event, plus input from a panel of local luminaries. The prize package includes a professionally recorded five-song EP, custom T-shirts and stickers, and airplay on radio station WEQX.

But, there is a but: Buried at the end of the press release trumpeting the band b battles is the following stanza: “If selected for one of the 10 finalist positions, bands must agree to purchase 25 tickets at $15 each, which can then be sold or given away to fans, friends and family.”

So: There is no entry fee, but a $375 fee if you win. Do with that what you will.

Check out www.spac.org for all the details and submission info.

AND: NOW It’s not just talk: The Interwebs really are the wave of the future for local radio. After a lengthy hiatus from broadcasting, Barbara Kaiser, host of long-running WRPI show Jazz & . . ., has announced her eclectically programmed show’s triumphant return. Kaiser’s three-hour weekly program is now streaming on Ye Olde Internette at www.live365.com/stations/jazzand.

THEY GOT THE JACK Just when you think you’ve heard it all, you turn on the car stereo and hear Steely Dan segue into Daughtry. “Adult hits” station The Bridge 100.9 FM recently took over the frequency formerly occupied by Magic 100.9 (now at AM 590). The station, owned by Albany Broadcasting, plays mostly ’80s hits with the occasional currently popular song tossed in—which means it’s kind of weird.

A second Albany Broadcasting band, hard-rock station The Edge 104.9, also flipped a few weeks ago—to a country format. 104.9 The Cat aims to put up a fight against country stalwart 107.7 WGNA in the ratings. The flip left an excellent local-music resource, the Ralph Renna-hosted Capital Underground, temporarily homeless. But Renna is quickly back up and running, having smartly taken his act to the World Wide Web. The show is streaming at capitalundergroundradio.com, and reaching a larger audience than ever before. Sounds like a win/win.

—John Brodeur

Let us know about local-music news and happenings for inclusion in Rough Mix: E-mail tips and information to tigerpop1@yahoo.com or metroland@metroland.net.