Meredith Wagner | Arts & Life Editor

Baylor’s annual “Battle of the Bands” talent show determines the opening acts for the Diadeloso headliner each year. This year, two talented acts were selected to open for headliner and local band “Honest Men.” The first place prize in 2018’s Battle of the Bands went to “The Thinking Caps.”

The Thinking Caps are composed of four members with vibrant personalities that mirror their sound. Waco junior Josh Barbur, the drummer, dreams of being a videographer by day and a drummer by night; Grayson Graham, Waco high school senior at Eagle Christian Academy, is the lead vocalist who plays guitar and aspires to be “not homeless” post-graduation; Killeen sophomore James Wallace plays the electric guitar and aspires, unironically, to be a professional musician, and L.A. senior Josh Lo, who definitely prefers In-N-Out over Whataburger, plays the base. Collectively, the group admitted that they like Taylor Swift, dream of combining their music and their professional careers in one way or another, and, for the most part, aren’t appalled by blueberry muffins.

The Thinking Caps

Winner of “Battle of the Bands”

Whataburger or In-N-Out?

• JB: “In-N-Out feels healthier. In general, I feel like I’m not getting cancer when I eat there.”
• GG: “Whataburger, because honey butter chicken biscuits.”
• JL: “In-N-Out. Whataburger is more expensive. It doesn’t taste like anything to me.”
• JW: “Whataburger. Better shakes. Better burgers. More options.”

If you could live in a movie world for one hour, which movie would you live in, and what would you do?

• JB: “The Matrix, and I would just run around. I’d go like — make some buildings.”
• GG: “Narnia. That’s the first thing that popped in my head. I’d probably go to Cair Paravel, and see Edmund and Lucy.”
• JL: “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.”
• JW: “Inception. I would build a super cool city.”

Would you rather change gender every time you sneezed or think all babies are blueberry muffins?

• JB: “Changing gender every time I sneeze would be changing gender every five minutes. I’m gonna go with the baby thing.”
• GG: “Probably change gender every time. I don’t want to see babies as blueberry muffins. I feel like that would kind of ruin babies.”
• JL: “Babies. I have really intense sneezes. I’ll sneeze like 15 times over the course of three minutes. That would just stress me out.”
• JW: “Babies. I think that’d be very emotionally taxing to change gender that often.”

Favorite chick-flick?

• JB: “Does Mean Girls count?” …”Yes.” “Okay, Mean Girls.”
• GG: “Probably Gilmore Girls. I watch it with my mom and my sister.”
• JL: “She’s the Man.”
• JW: “The Notebook.”

Guilty pleasure song?

• JB: “Probably some Bruno Mars song. I’m not going to say Taylor Swift because I actually like Taylor Swift.”
• GG: “Style by Taylor Swift.”
• JL: “Last Friday Night by Katy Perry. Or any Katy Perry song.”
• JW: “Probably Fireworks by Katy Perry.”

When you were five years old, what did you want to want to be when you grew up?

• JB: “Firefighter. And a concert pianist. Combined.”
• GG: “An archeologist. Now I want to be not homeless. I want to be someone with a job.”
• JL: “An archeologist. Now I want to be somewhere between a physical therapist and someone in a band.”
• JW: “Musician.”

Whose your spirit animal Office character?

• JB: “Dwight.”
• GG: “Probably Michael. He tries to be funny and nice to everybody … All the good stuff from him, like his happiness and joy.”
• JL: “Stanley,” because, according to Barbur, “He eats so much food.”
• “Definitely Andy. I share a lot of characteristics with that guy. He’s interestingly obnoxious.” –JW

Jacob Humber

Runner-up in Battle of the Bands

Denver senior Jacob Humber, runner-up in the Battle of the Bands, plays acoustic sets of both original and cover songs throughout Texas. In addition to his love for Pokemon and patty melts, Humber said he enjoys writing music and sharing it with those around him.

Whataburger or In-N-Out?

• “Definitely Whataburger becuase of the patty melts. They’re so good. Specifically without onions.”

If you could live in a movie world for one hour, which movie would you live in, and what would you do?

• “I have, low-key, always been obsessed with Pokemon. If I’m ever asked what superpower I would have, I always say I would be a Pokemon trainer, so I could have all these Pokemon, and I would have every super power. But if I only had an hour, I would find my doppelgänger Pokemon.”

Would you rather change gender every time you sneezed or think all babies are blueberry muffins?

• “I have a weakness for blueberry muffins, and blueberries, and I would eat the babies, so I’m gonna have to say change gender every time I sneeze.”

Favorite chick-flick?

• “She’s the Man.”

Guilty pleasure song?

• “‘You Can’t Stop the Beat’ from the Hairspray soundtrack.”

When you were five years old, what did you want to want to be when you grew up?

• “I wanted to play in the NFL. Now, I want to be a songwriter who gets to share experience and perspective through song and conversation.”

Who’s your spirit animal “Office” character?

• “I act a lot like Dwight, with my obnoxious, stupid, very over-confident demeanor. I’m an idiot. I’m confidently an idiot.”

Hardest you’ve ever laughed?

• “Watching ‘How Animals Eat Their Food‘ — the first one.”