Future rockers at the University of Dayton are preparing for the upcoming Battle of the Bands.
On Saturday Feb. 23, in the Kennedy Union Pub, four bands will compete at Battle of the Bands. The annual event, hosted by the Campus Concert Committee, starts at 8 p.m. and allows each band 25 minutes of playing time.
At the preliminary auditions that happened first semester, bands were required to play two original compositions while members of the CCC judged and eliminated all but four bands: Lauren Eylise and the Part Time Lovers, Brandon and the Brown Bag Bandits, Schneider and Co. and
Dave Zup.
These musicians will now battle to win a chance to headline the upcoming spring concert.
Senior music education major Willie Morris IV formed the band that would later be a Battle of the Bands winner, Customer Service and the Gem City Horns, as a community arts project last year.
He said the band attracted more attention than he anticipated, and they began getting gigs and entered into last year’s Battle
of the Bands.
“We were absolute underdogs at last year’s battle when it came to popularity and experience, but we came through to win a landslide victory,” Morris said.
“We got the opportunity to open for Lupe Fiasco, record some demos and kick start into the UD
music scene.”
Morris will perform trumpet with Gem City again at this battle, but he will not compete. He wants another band to continue its dream and have a chance to experience what Gem City was able to achieve.
In the four years since its creation, CCC has managed to book Guster, Ben Folds, Jack’s Mannequin and, most recently,
Lupe Fiasco.
Consisting solely of University of Dayton students, the CCC aims to offer students and the Dayton community medium-to
large-scale concerts.
According to Battle of the Bands coordinator and junior public relations major Rachel Stydnicki, the categories for judging include technical ability, stage presence and overall performance. The crowd votes and determines the remaining 60 percent of the
final score.
If students buy tickets early, they enter in a raffle for two free plane tickets from Spirit Airlines.
For $3 cash or $4 on Flyer Express, listen to live music and decide the fate of one of four bands.
