By Elizabeth Stitt
Battle of the Bands rocks BYU
By ELIZABETH STITT
Ten bands, three hours, one prize.
For this year?s Battle of the Bands, bands promise an exciting competition as ten local bands shoot for the $500 prize awarded by the crowd.
Battle of the Bands is an annual fall event sponsored by BYUSA. The competition encourages bands to show off their musical talent.
?We give them a venue, we give them a crowd, and we give them the opportunity to shine,? said John Reschke BYUSA campus activities director.
Over 40 bands tried out for this year?s battle, but after a one day, 12-hour judging process by BYUSA committees, only 10 made the final cuts. They will compete this Saturday at 8 p.m. in the JFSB quad for the final prize.
Although most of the competing bands classify their style as rock, they each have their own unique musical style.
Deadlocked is the returning champion from last year?s Battle of the Bands. They formed over a year ago, won Battle of the Bands and now they?re back for a second try. Michael Lowe, media music major, started Deadlocked to try a different style of music.
?We just wanted to play stuff that people could really get into in a live show,? Lowe said. ?I don?t think there?s anything more important than people having fun and enjoying our shows.?
Deadlocked isn?t the only returning band. Chili Davis is returning for their fourth Battle of the Bands competition. Brandon Brown, a senior from Encinitas, Calif. started the band with Lowe from Deadlocked.
Zero to Nothing dates back to 1997 when they formed as a high school band in Milwaukee. They played together their freshman year at BYU then left on their missions. They are back together and are competing for their third time in Battle of the Bands.
?Our music is really loud and distorted,? said Alan Stoffer, a senior majoring in economics. ?We have heavy drums and guitar solos, all the stuff that really classifies rock music. It?s good stuff to jump up and down and get crazy to.?
Rockwell is also a returning band competitor. The three members said their music is a melodic rock and the lyrics are relationship-based.
?Most of our songs are about relationships that none of us have ever really been in,? said Andrew Cobabe, a junior majoring in audiology and speech-language pathology.
A fairly new band in the competition is Doubletake. They came together two months ago and decided to compete.
?We can learn things really quickly,? said Sean Hess, a junior majoring in electrical engineering. ?We all write music so we have about 16 originals within these two months.?
Their style is a mix of ska and funk. Ska involves playing the guitar on the off beats and usually a horn. ?Our style doesn?t use any distortion so it?s a clean sound,? Hess said. ?The essence of ska is that it?s fast-paced, exciting and fun to dance to.?
Other bands that will compete are The Project, Painting the Roses, Metzener, Casual Friday and Achilles.
BYUSA sponsors the Battle and is using it this year as a kick-off for Y-Days. The first 200 students who volunteer an hour or more on Saturday will receive a free ticket to Battle of the Bands.
Battle of the Bands tickets are $3 for BYU students and $5 for non-BYU students.
