Music Wars

By David Chang
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
[email protected]

Meet at the old seesaw next to the monkey bars. Be there or be
square.

Forget about the WWF Royal Rumble or the upcoming Mike
Tyson-Lennox Lewis bout; Battle of the Bands 2002 is the schoolyard
brawl happening right here, right now. Six bands with a total of 30
musicians will collide in a musical melee 7 p.m. Friday at Ackerman
Grand Ballroom.

Long before the drumsticks and guitar picks start flying across
the stage Friday night, Campus Events had to pick the worthy
warriors. They received over 40 applications by the April 26
deadline. Eligible bands were required to have a minimum of one
current college student and no recording contract. The concert
staff then divvied up the demo tapes among its members to listen to
and rate according to creativity, quality, and originality. After a
week’s worth of lobbing horrendous demo tapes into trash
cans, the staff congregated to decide on the six lucky bands who
are now vying for gift certificates from Sam Ash Music.

One of the groups has plenty of experience with battles and gift
certificates. A rap/rock army of seven, Stereotype is back for
blood after finishing second to Calcutta in last year’s
Battle of the Bands. To add insult to injury, the band lost its
second prize gift certificate.

“If we get runner-up again, we’ll make sure we
don’t lose the gift certificate,” said guitarist Eric
Tandoc, who was also runner-up in last year’s much maligned
DJ competition.

“It’s going to be different definitely because
we’ve been practicing and performing a lot,” said emcee
Vince Cruz. “The first time we did it was actually only our
second performance together ever.”

In another corner stands pop rock quintet Alan Smithee (two
months in the making) who is this year’s newly formed
ensemble. However, the young band is sky high with
self-assurance.

“We’re a band of rejects basically,” said lead
vocalist/guitarist David Jonelis. “We thought we were one of
six bands that tried out. We only have three songs (the quota for
each band performing).”

Alan Smithee considers itself the B-side band with a
single-minded mission to play for the children and Jesus. However,
it does not fashion itself as another Creed but rather a mixture of
Third Eye Blind, Counting Crows, Matchbox Twenty and oddly, Ted
Nugent.

“We just want to be better than Journey,” said
guitarist Girish Varma.

They also need to be better than five other bands in the eyes of
judges from Interscope Records, Dreamworks Recordings, and House of
Blues in Los Angeles. One of the bands eager to play in front of
industry representatives and college kids is the Action Cats. Lead
vocalist/guitarist Nick May describes the group’s sound as a
cross between Weezer and the White Stripes. The four-piece band
plans to unleash its 38-year-old secret weapon in drummer Matt
Taylor, the dean of Pomona College.

“We heard the dean of campus life, who’s basically
the guy who busts you for drinking, was this kick-ass
drummer,” May said. “He’s out of control and so
much better a musician than the rest of us. We bring the energy and
he brings the musical technicality.”

Despite the lack of a drumming dean, the confident rap/rock
sextet Abstract Original does feature a DJ called Knobs and a
keyboardist named Hollywood.

“We mix a variety of obviously hip hop, jazz, and a little
bit of rock,” said drummer Tim Tate. “We’re going
to bring out hip hop and make sure that hip hop stands on
top.”

Abstract Original is battle-tested after gutting out a fourth
place finish in a recent three-month, 75-band tournament held in
Santa Monica. Battle of the Bands should be a guerrilla jungle
cakewalk for these guys.

One of two bands from outside Los Angeles, 21 Rest, hailing from
San Diego, has been around since February of 1998. The show’s
elder statesmen take tremendous pride in their music and knowledge
of the art of war.

“We’re going to tear it up,” said guitarist
Weston Boucher. “I think we can bring the most to the table
among all the bands because we have the passion and the drive.
We’re definitely confident because the labels can see
that.”

The alternative rock foursome’s battle cry is not without
careful planning.

“We want to show the labels that we have versatility to
our music,” said. “We want to do at least one song with
a harder edge, something with more power. The others will be our
catchiest tunes, the ones most likely to sell as
singles.”

In terms of song selection, Long Beach-based rock quartet Banner
Day has its own philosophy. After turning in the application on the
last day, the band was picked to be the leadoff batter responsible
for revving up the crowd, and setting the bar for the other
fighters. Guitarist Brad Lindsay admitted that the band is
concerned about establishing the concert vibe with only three
songs. Thus, audience members should expect them to dish out their
fast, upbeat bests.

“We don’t intend to jump through any particular
hoops,” said Lindsay. “We just want to put on a good
show. We’re looking forward to playing for the student
community.”

Watch out for musicians in camouflage with poison tipped
drumsticks, bring band-aids, and earplugs, because it’s going
to be a war in there.