Local bands prepare to compete on campus for title of CU’s best
Twelve local bands will compete to win the Battle of the Bands event at 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 26 in the Glenn Miller Ballroom.
This free annual concert, in its third year, is hosted by Program Council.
Evan Matt, 19, an open-option major and Program Council representative, said approximately 1,000 students attended the event last year.
This year, Program Council expects as many students to see a wide variety of bands.
Some Random Band will make its second appearance in a row. The group took second place to the band Second String last year.
“We’re looking forward to it either way, win or lose. I think we have a pretty good chance,” said Brandon Fuelling, a freshman open-option major who plays lead guitar in Some Random Band.
A panel of five judges will critique the performances. The panel has three students — Daniel Sax, 20, a junior English major and talent buyer for Program Council and Spencer Knapp, a freshman open-option major and the manager of The Drum Shop and Sam Sacher, program director for Radio 1190 and sophomore open-option major.
Boulder Weekly entertainment editor Dale Bridges is another panelist, as is Carter Pann, a CU music professor and Grammy-nominated composer.
Several categories judged on a scale of one to ten make up the criteria for each band.
The bands will be scored on musicianship, style, originality, stage presence and the ever-important audience response. The top three winners all receive gifts sponsored by Hard Rock Cafe, Mocapay, the Onion and Apple.
Each band gets a 10-minute set to show the audience what they’re made of. The winning band also gets a chance to play a victory song at the end of the battle.
The grand prize for the winning band is a free show at Club 156 on campus, as well as a Halloween performance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Denver. That show allows the band two 45-minute sets and provides their own green room with a complimentary dinner.
From rock to punk to bluegrass to jazz, there will be bands to fulfill many different tastes in music.
“We’re not emo or screamo, we’re that good music. We can’t wait to play in front of all the people,” said drummer Bryan Peregrine, 22, from the Chevelle-influenced band, Cypher.
In contrast, Van Wampler, 18, a freshman film studies major who plays “mellow, piano music” is also performing at Battle of the Bands.
Alongside these bands, Varlet, Noise Boys, Mach Heroes, Die Nasty, Black Prez, Nautik, Evan and the Argonauts, The Light on Adam’s Stereo, and The Bad Intentions Bluegrass Band will rock out for a chance to win the 2007 Battle of the Bands.
For more information on Battle of the Bands, go toProgram Council’s Web site
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Sarah Stern at sterns@colorado.edu
