Battle of the Bands supports meal kitchens, displays talent
December 16, 2016
rom rap to rock music, Battle of The Bands offers an opportunity for both performance and competition. According to Interact president Zach Cepeda, Battle of the Bands welcomes any type of band and allows six minutes for each performance. The winning band of this year’s battle, Perform!, was determined by the audience’s votes.
“We [looked] for anyone who [wanted] to show their talent and just perform and have a fun time,” Cepeda said. “That’s the main point, because a lot of times for The Variety Show, people get intimidated, […] so it’s a really awesome opportunity for people who are musical and want to try creating a band.”
According to Cepeda, the battle raised $970 that will go to the meal kitchens Interact supports, and that amount is $200 more than last year’s event.
“Last year for our meal kitchen, we had […] two people that came into the meal kitchen and broke down crying,” Cepeda said. “They were saying, ‘This is the first meal we’ve had all day.’ All this money that we raise from Battle of the Bands that all [goes] to [the meal kitchens], and I said to the crowd, ‘You did that.’”
Senior Kayleigh Markulis says she attends the event every year and played the tenor saxophone as a part of the winning band, Perform!, this year. The band performed “Cop-Chase” by Jason Mraz and “Hey DJ” by Suburban Legends. Markulis says she enjoys the event because of its great cause, as well as the atmosphere.
Senior Victor Bienko played the alto saxophone for Perform! and says that they brought new things to Battle of the Bands like jazz instruments and choreography.
“The crowd definitely seemed to get into [the performance] and really like it, especially when we got loud […],” Bienko said. “At the points when we got loud, [the crowd] got pretty excited. When the crowd gets into it, it makes you feel a lot better and a lot more comfortable.”
Markulis says she really enjoys the openness and variety of people that perform for this charity event.
“I love seeing people go up that are usually never doing anything performance-wise because we don’t really have so many [open mics like this], so it’s awesome to see classmates go up there and [have] a great time singing or playing,” Markulis said.
Juniors Zoe Gunderson and Audrey Hwang performed a mashup of “I Want You Back” by Jackson 5 and “Put Your Records On” by Corinne Bailey Rae as their two-woman band, Serendipity.
“We were kind of nervous beforehand, but right when I [went on stage], everything eased and I was just like ‘okay, now it’s all about the music’,” Gunderson said. “To see a crowd is just a whole different experience that I think you have to […] be on stage to know what it feels like, but it’s just an amazing experience.”