Second Annual Battle of the Bands Friday

By Stone Ferrell and Tali Schiller

It’s that time of year, again. The sun is starting to shine, the flowers are beginning to bloom, and Grave-Robbing Extravaganza is preparing to melt our faces.
It’s time for Battle of the Bands. With more sound and two stages, Battle of the Bands is going to be a night to remember.
On Friday, April 18, UMW will host nine acts in a celebration of Mary Wash’s rich music scene. Each band on the roster brings its own flavor to the table, coming together in a night that will have something for everyone. Looking at the line-up, it’s easy to recognize a few of the names. Oldies and rookies, hardened vets and fresh faces means a night of stiff competition for everybody. But if you talk to the bands themselves, it’s all about putting on a great show.
Each of the acts will be competing for a chance to open on Devil-Goat Day, but that’s not all.  The first-place winner will take home the prize,  a $500 gift certificate to Guitar Center. The second-place winners will receive a $300 gift card, and the third-place guys will get a $200 Guitar Center gift card.
The chance at a sweet prize is the last thing on the mind of Junk Science’s harmonica/trumpet player, UMW senior Matt Bradshaw.
He’s just glad people will get to hear Junk Science’s music, and is looking forward to the chance to play with bands that he can’t help complimenting.
Formed with a few friends about two years ago, Junk Science has a five-track EP under its belt and will be performing songs from that, along with many newer ones. Fans  should especially look out for “Got No Reason,” which Bradshaw describes as a taste of Junk Science’s new, more mature sound. That and a “Good, groovy dance tune.”
While the roster for the Battle of the Bands is too long and too sweet to go into rich detail, there are introductions in order:
Grave Robbing Extravaganza should be new to no one. This well known campus band describes themselves as “progressively leaning melodic metal,” and features senior Christian Tenney and junior Colin Deyman on guitar, senior Lewis Kopenhafer on bass and vocals, and senior Evan Henry on drums. GRE (as they are colloquially known) is looking forward to playing their second to last show together before going on indefinite hiatus. After Tenney, Kopenhafer, and Henry graduate.
They were the winners of last year’s Battle of the Bands, rocking some faces off in spring ‘07 and are looking to do it again this Friday.
“We’re going in with no expectations, just wanna go in and play. Looking forward to playing with Junk Science and No Sunlight for the Media, some bands we’ve played with before, lots of familiar people, and it’ll be a fun time. We’re looking to getting a big crowd and having some fun with some metal,” said Tenney.
The Console War  started in Northern Virginia and have been on temporary hiatus since school started up again for senior and Bullet editor-in-chief Will Copps, TCW’s drummer. For Copps, it’s all about bringing the show home to Mary Washington, “I’m excited to play with this band finally at UMW,” he said.
Baby Perfection’s musical style, in the facetious words of member Emily Nelson, is “horse tranquilizer trip hop.”  Put together in fall of 2007, the band features Nelson on vocals/drum machine and The Methamphetamines’ Adam Holofcener on drums.
This newcomer’s stripped down sound mixes harsh beats and harsher lyrics with a distinctive disdain for propriety.   When asked what they’d be bringing to the competition, Nelson’s answer was both concise and characteristic: “T & A.”
After a long year away, UMW’s Battle of the Bands is back and better than ever. On Friday, April 18, for the price of free, come down to the Great Hall and cheer on your favorite band while getting to know next year’s big names.