Battle of the bands benefits Stripes

In a small Mom and Pop bar in Dellwood on a Friday night, a group of music fans and four bands got together to entertain, be entertained and to raise money for an anti-drunk driving cause.

The battle took place at Dellwood Lounge. It was sponsored by UM-St. Louis' Sigma Pi fraternity and was emceed by Sigma Pi alumnus and former Current editor-in-chief Nick Bowman. There were four bands and all were competing for a cash prize.

The first band was a group of five called Rushmore Academy, a jumpy, punk-like band. They were loud and sounded like Green Day. They even had a keytar, a la Flock of Seagulls. Unfortunately, due to technical problems, the audience was unable to hear the lyrics. The lead singer was belting his heart out but no one could hear him. Halfway through their set, the band realized the microphone was not working. Then, the band began to have a conference in the middle of their song before picking up again. Some people in the audience became more involved with the Cardinals game that was being shown on the TV in the back of the bar. Several audience members went outside where the other bands were congregating, leaving only a small handful of people inside. The band was obviously an amateur band, proved by their goofing off on stage and their attempt to start a chant that the audience just was not having. I do not know how many songs were played because the songs all sounded alike and seemed to meld together into one long eardrum breaker. There was scattered applause at the end of the set, mainly from one or two people.

The second band, Soul for Silver, sounded more like they knew what they were doing. When they started their set, everyone came back inside. Although there were still technical problems, this band was a little easier to hear. They were harder than the first band, sounding like Soundgarden. Their songs were also a little melodic. There was definitely a better crowd reaction.

One Man Out was the third band. There are several members in the band who are in the Sigma Pi fraternity. They have a small fan base and several CDs. It was a little easier to hear the lead singer of this band but the lyrics were a little unclear. They sound like Good Charlotte or the Great American Rejects. They also had a great crowd reaction.

The last band was Zero Principle. This band played well also, sounding a little like Limp Bizkit. They were hard to hear as well, but at this point the audience did not seem to mind. They also seemed to be well-liked by the audience.

The winner of the battle was One Man Out. I asked the emcee, Nick Bowman, if that did not seem a little biased. He said, "Yes, but this was more about raising money for Stripes than about an actual battle and we were able to raise $300 for the benefit."

Stripes is an organization set up by UM-St. Louis fraternities and sororities. The houses each take turns playing chauffeur for the other houses. This way, no one has to worry about getting home when they are drunk. The battle was to raise money for a good cause and the bands that played were great. Although there were some technical problems, the show was a good one.