Albert The fish performs at the Battle of the Bands competition.
Photos courtesy of Melissa Rechin / Photo Editor.
MARSHA COHEN
Staff Writer
The Battle of the Bands has graced the SUNY Fredonia campus once again, but with some changes.
The competition was split between three days with three bands performing each of the first two days, and the winners from the first two performances competing on April 3. On March 26, the first three bands, Albert The Fish, Mooses and Dollar Diplomacy, performed for the Fredonia campus in the Williams Center Multipurpose Room. The low audience turnout was very unexpected for an event like Battle of the Bands, which usually draws in at least hundreds of students.
“It was a bit disappointing to see such a low turnout for Battle of the Bands. I think a good chunk of it had to do with it being held after such a big break the week before, and people still had to come back to do midterms,” said Brittany Maxwell, a senior video production major who attended the first night of event.
One can also accredit the low turnout to a change in the prize. This year’s Battle of the Band winner will receive a $500 cash prize instead of getting the chance to perform at Fred Fest.
“I think partially for the lower turnout for the crowd is because the band is not opening and is not the lead performance for Fred Fest. I think though, if Fred Fest was still having a popular headliner coming there would have been a larger crowd,” said Maxwell.
An off-the-record source said the change in prizes occurred because Spectrum and Sound Services are no longer working together due to a partnership conflict.
Conflicts aside, Sound Services still looks forward to the yearly event.
“Most of the time we are catering to a group’s needs for an event, like the Drag Show and events for groups like BSU and LU. But for Battle of the Bands it’s our event, ” said Brian Kulak, a senior sound recording major and president of Sound Services.
The auditioning process for the Battle of the Bands is done in a fair manner, with Sound Services’ e-board serving as the judges. The bands are required to turn in a demo to Sound Services, which the
boardwill then listen to, along with an application. The selected bands will play on one of the two preliminary days assigned to them, and the winner of each preliminary will compete head-to-head on April 3. The winner of the first preliminary night was Albert and The Fish; the following day Buxom, Hearts Like Riot and Three Words took to the stage for the second preliminary round, with Buxom winning the chance to advance in the competition.
For the final round Albert The Fish will be competing against Buxom, with a wildcard thrown into the mix.
Despite the change in the prize, the bands still looked forward to performing.
“The best part was performing our music for everyone and getting our name out there. We also thought the cash prize would be awesome, too. It could definitely be put to great use,” said Jabari K Noel, guitarist of Albert The Fish.