Chugiak’s first annual battle of the bands rocks out for a good cause
The first place band, Clockwork Orange, performing one of their famous medleys.
April 22, 2010 • Meg Mielke, Editor
Filed under School News, Top Stories
On Saturday, April 3. 2010, Chugiak High School presented its first annual Battle of the Bands competition. Four bands consisting of Mustangs and non-Mustangs competed in the event to prove which band held musical superiority. The three judges for the event were choir director Ron Lange, science teacher Brian Mason and a Mike’s Music Employee. Besides adding a judge, Mike’s Music also donated guitar picks as well as a set of drum sticks to the winning drummer.
No Substitute is a rock alternative band consisting of six students: Nicole Warner, Andrew Lochner, Danny Williams, Peter Williams, David Warner and Aaron Finkler. This band alternated between two different singers (Nicole Warner and Andrew Lochner) and both the bass player and the drummer (David Warner and Aaron Finkler) switched between the two instruments. No Substitute performed two cover songs and two original songs to round out their set.
Noise Brigade consists of four members: Doug Jones, Mikel Henry, Justin Schwartz and Kalvin Ruth. This band played a combination of original songs and cover songs, and had arguably the loudest cheering section in the auditorium.
The band, Clockwork Orange, presented one of the most unique musical forces with Karly Matson on vocals, Max Silverman on the keyboard and David Smith on the drums. Even without a guitar or bass player, the band performed some of the most catchy numbers of the night with two medleys, the Lady Gaga medley from Youtube and a Smith and Silverman original titled “The Annoying Pop Medley.”
The Molten Souls ended the night with Gabe Parsons, Philip Scott and Rusty Teller keeping the rhythm and the spirits up even till the end of the two-hour event. Following in the tradition of the rest of the bands, the Molten Souls played a few cover songs as well as one original song titled “Moist Cake.”
Between the battling bands, the audience was left entertained by an air guitar competition between members of the crowd, and an informational speech and slideshow by event organizer Brandon Boyer and a drum-off between both audience members and competitors.
At the end of the evening the rankings were announced. No Substitute received 4th place with 55 points; Noise Brigade received 3rd place with 70 points. The top two bands came in a neck-breaking finish with the Molten Souls finally being named the runner-up with 74 points and Clockwork Orange receiving 1st place with 75 points. The close competition between all four of the bands highlighted the musical talent that Chugiak possesses.
Besides promoting music and the arts in our community, the event had another purpose. The main focus of the event was to raise money for Kids’ Kitchen, a nonprofit organization centered in Fairview that works to feed children who would not otherwise have a meal. Each weeknight, 75 children sit down for a healthy meal cooked by the Kids’ Kitchen volunteer staff. All of the proceeds from this event will go to this local cause in order to help local children have a safe environment. From a combination of ticket sales and donations during the event, Chugiak raised over one thousand dollars for Kids’ Kitchen.
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