Two Carnegie Mellon-based bands have been "making the cut" over and over again in a Pittsburgh PCTV 21 competition. Make the CUT (Citywide Undiscovered Talent) is a competition modeled after American Idol open to Pittsburgh bands and residents. The band Sa'J7 has reached the finals, and Nick Casey made it to the semifinals of the competition. The semifinalists competed last week and three winners advanced to the finals.

Sa'J7 is made up up Christina Acosta, Diana Henderson, Tim Lowe, Sean McGarill, Michael Casey Rehm, Nikhil Shetty, and Ronald White, whose majors range from English to electrical and computer engineering. The group hopes to make it big by the end of the year since a few of its members will be graduating and leaving the band, said Lowe in a recent press release. They seem to be well on their way. Last year, the band won the Battle of the Bands at the Underground.

The other Carnegie Mellon group, Nick Casey, is a duo of drama majors. Nick Webber plays the piano and Casey Spindler plays the guitar. The two have already played gigs around the Pittsburgh area and have much on-stage experience. They made it as far as the semifinalist competition, but were one of the five acts eliminated from the eight original semifinalists.

The finalists performances can be replayed on the PCTV 21 website, www.pctv21.org. Viewers can vote on the talent they feel deserves the grand prize. The winning band will receive $1,500 and a video showcase reel, allowing them to further promote their talent. The winner will be announced downtown at Dowe’s on Ninth on March 8. Doors open at 6pm.