Students get medieval for annual Battle of the Bands

This year's Battle of the Bands comes with quite a few changes in hopes of making the event bigger and better than in years past.


Despite receiving a record number of 20 applicants, the battle is showcasing only six bands, rather than eight bands as in years past, due to some of the scheduling changes.

One of these changes is scheduling the event for a Thursday night. SEAC decided that putting the event on the Friday night of a three-day weekend might result in low turnout, so the call was made to move it to Thursday instead.


Because it is on a Thursday, the event must end as close to 10 p.m. as possible so as not to disturb quiet hours, hence the smaller number of bands.


While the number of bands was cut down, the performance time each group gets was lengthened. Each band, comprised of at least one Seattle U student, gets a 15-minute set.

This year's competition will have five judges, up from last year's three. Jake Diaz, vice president of Student Development, and Brad Agoos, men's soccer head coach, will be representing Seattle University on the judging panel. Amber Ki Morgan and Garrett Kelly of Hollow Earth Radio and Alicia Amiri of Neumos will also judge.


"I've always been a fan of music," Agoos said. "It'll be interesting to see what the music community at Seattle University is like, not only with the bands but with who comes out."


John Conway, junior civil engineering major and SEAC chair for Battle of the Bands, had better luck this year getting judges than previous years.


"There was a lot more interest this year," Conway said. "It's good to have more opinions […] and they're all really knowledgeable."


Another change from previous years is the student choice element. Audience members will get to vote for their favorite band, which will make up one-sixth of the final vote. Students from previous competitions complained when their favorite band didn't win, so adjustments were made to the judging element.


If the student choice doesn't win any of the major prizes, the band will still win a performance at the Bistro.

Prizes have been upgraded this year and offer more opportunities for the bands than in previous years. The grand prize is a headlining show at Neumos, one hour of performance and interview on Hollow Earth Radio and eight hours in a recording studio. Second place will win a performance at KeyArena during a men's basketball game and four hours in a recording studio, and third place will win two hours in a recording studio.


"Bands now have the opportunity to meet people in the industry," Conway said.


"The event will [showcase] diverse music and will represent the diversity on our campus," said Veronica Lim, SEAC member and sophomore English major.


SEAC member Katie Nguyen, sophomore management major, added "it gives students the chance to branch out from their normal music scene."

Medieval Mayhem: Knight of Rock starts at 8 p.m. Feb. 11 in the Campion Ballroom. General admission is $3.

Kat may be reached at acatlett@su-spectator.com