Eric Tandoc shows off his skills on the
turntable during a rehearsal for the Battle of the Bands.
By Mary Williams
Daily Bruin Staff
Many UCLA students are looking to the new Radiohead album for
innovations in the occasionally drab music scene, but perhaps while
they are waiting they should turn their attention a little closer
to home.
The Battle of the Bands, which is being held tonight at 7 in
Ackerman Grand Ballroom, will showcase the musical talent of four
bands, two hip-hop groups and four DJs from schools around Southern
California, providing a venue for local college artists and
allowing audience members access to their peers’ talents.
“On a superficial level, they’re being entertained
to whatever degree, but more than that I think they’re seeing
people that are doing what they want to do, which is inspiration
for all of us,” said Keith Nicol, a fifth-year fine arts
student and the lead singer of Genohm, a UCLA band competing in the
event. “I’ll go out and I learn from seeing people who
are being passionate and expressing themselves.”
This year’s event marks an expansion for Battle of the
Bands. In previous years, the competition was restricted to UCLA
groups and was held in the Cooperage in Ackerman Union. This year
the Campus Events Commission, which organized the event, decided to
include other bands and moved the event to Ackerman Grand Ballroom,
a much larger venue.
 Photos by BEN KHIANMAHD (Left to right) Melanie
Nyema, Andrew Johnson and Vince Cruz will all be
participating in the Battle of the Bands.
With the increased scale, the Campus Events Commission hopes to
attract a crowd of about 500 people to the competition, far more
than the previous competitions held in the Cooperage.
“We wanted to open it up to all schools and give bigger
prizes and give bands more exposure,” said Erin Solis, a
third-year English student who is the concert director for Campus
Events.
Performers were chosen from over 50 applicants who submitted two
original songs to Campus Events. Solis, who was involved in the
selection process, said she is happy with the groups they
chose.
“Their music was very catchy, it was well produced and it
flowed really well,” she said.
Hip-hop groups and bands will be judged based on one 15-minute
set, and the four DJs will compete in face-offs, with the winners
of the first round competing against each other in the second.
The first round will allow each DJ to perform for three minutes
and the second round will allow each only a minute and a half.
“You get to see who is better really quick,” said
Benjamin Zuboff, a fourth-year history student, who will be
performing under the name DJ Obi, about the advantage of the
fast-paced DJ face-offs.
The panel of judges will include representatives from Dreamworks
Records, Interscope Records and Moonshine Music, as well as Jed the
Fish from KROQ and a DJ from KCRW. Rene Dominguez of Ozomatli will
judge the DJ competition.
The grand-prize winners, runners-up and second runners-up will
be awarded gift certificates from Sam Ash, a music-instrument
retailer. The winners of the band/hip-hop categories and DJ
category will share a Westwood Plaza concert at noon on May 24.
The prizes are not the only incentive for participants, however.
Many groups chose to participate in front of a large audience to
gain exposure.
“We thought it’d be good exposure for our band to
play in front of lots of people,” said Grant Umeda, a
second-year materials engineering student and member of the band
Calcutta. “We just wanted to see how we’d compare
to the other bands, because they have submissions from a whole
bunch of different schools from Southern California.”
The chance for groups to show what they are capable of is an
appealing aspect of the competition for bands made up of college
students.
“It’s another opportunity for us to showcase our
abilities and talent. We’re taking as many
opportunities as we can to show what we’ve got and to present
ourselves,” said Ray Lai, a third-year English student and
bass player for the hip-hop group Stereotype.
The contest also provides audiences with exposure to groups they
might not hear about otherwise.
“I think they’ll get a lot of exposure to a lot of
these new bands, because I don’t think they’ve heard
any of these bands and these DJs that are playing,” Umeda
said. “Campus Events picked out a variety of bands to
play. They don’t all play the same type of music so I think
they’ll get good exposure to different types of music, from
people who have different influences.”
Nicol sees this event not only as exposure to new music, but to
new ideas, creating an experience from which audience members can
grow.
“They get out of it what they put into it, and if they pay
attention, who knows, they could learn an awful lot about
themselves or the ideas of others,” he said. “If
they’re agreeing with what the bands are saying of if
they’re disagreeing, at least they’re being driven in a
direction. They’re being pushed more to being
themselves.”
MUSIC: Battle of the Bands will be held in
Ackerman Grand Ballroom from 7-10 p.m. Admission is free and no
tickets are required.