By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, the Music Industry Club hosted “Battle of The Bands.” In the SUB BOWL, multiple different bands and artists all competed for the prize of a one-year contract with the club’s student-run record label.
Before the competition, local artist Ryan The Son took the stage with a variety of originals ranging from rap, pop, and R&B sounds and upbeat, encouraging lyrics. Halfway through his set, Ryan The Son announced that his next song was titled “Help” and was inspired by Linkin Park. The song combined empowering lyrics with an upbeat rap sound.
To close his set, Ryan The Son played a song called “Love Lingo,” saying, “nobody has ever heard this song except my two closest friends.” The song was intimate and emotional while still being groove-worthy and danceable.
Concluding Ryan The Son’s set, the MIC club co-presidents arrived on stage to announce the premise of the event and how the judging would work.
The first official act to go on was SUNNN. They opened with a mid-tempo indie pop song. The lead singer, Chloe Choudhury, danced around the stage enthusiastically as her soaring soprano voice blended with melodic guitar and high-tempo bass and drums.
The second song the band played was “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse.
Next up was Jacob Saflar, a solo singer and guitar player. Saflar started his set with a cover of Jeff Buckley’s “I Want Someone Badly.” The cover resonated with sorrow and yearning, giving a glimpse into Saflar’s artistic makeup.
The second song Saflar played was an original about love and life experiences.
Jordan Flores followed Saflar and prior to his set, stated, “I like long walks on the beach. I work too hard and love too much.”
The first song was a breakup anthem that resonated with feelings of love while combining an upbeat tempo and a beautiful electric guitar played by Flores.
Flores also played a cover of Rex Orange County’s “Best Friend” which maintained the intimate aspects of the original version while still reflecting Flores’s own personality as an artist within the song.
Next up was Evan Maddox, a freshman who played with a bassist and drummer. He started his set with a stripped-down version of “August” by Flip Turn. The second song Maddox played was a slowed-down original, written with lyrics dipped in emotion. The song was soft and intimate, combined with a beautiful instrumental.
Little Cat joined the stage after Maddox, also with bass and drums, and started off with a song called “Folsom” that was intimately interwoven with a deep moodiness and vulnerability.
Following the original, Little Cat sang a cover of “Sleeping Bear, Sault Ste. Marie” by Sufjan Stevens. He noted that it was a significantly more upbeat rendition. It ended up having a shoegaze-style solo in the middle.
Last up, Langley Cerovich began with a cover of the famous “Blackbird” by The Beatles. Soaring through the song on his acoustic guitar while flipping back and forth from an airy, sensitive head voice to a roaring belt made for a heartfelt cover.
Following “Blackbird,” Cerovich played a new original titled “How to Ease a Dying Mind,” which he wrote on the plane ride back following his sister’s wedding. The song was bursting with emotion and a display of the emotional depth Cerovich implanted into his lyrics.
Following Cerovich’s act, the audience eagerly waited during the 10-minute intermission to find out who would be awarded the top three spots in the competition.
The judges were Lily Davis, student body president; Jordy Dickey, director of student activities and Dr. Kevin Villegas, Dean of Intercultural Engagement and Division of Student Life Initiatives.
After careful consideration, the judges awarded third place to Evan Maddox, second to Little Cat, and first to Langley Cerovich.
“I’ve never done a competition before, so this was a little scary,” Cerovich said. “And I just wrote this song [How To Ease A Dying Mind] because I just got back from my sister’s wedding, so I just wrote this song on the plane back and then a little bit today. So it was interesting; that was a very vulnerable moment. Maybe that’s kind of what tied into it.”
Cerovich also said that he is going to utilize the confidence from this win to help him at an upcoming show he’s doing at Common Grounds on Nov. 8.
The competition was not only a place for these artists to showcase their talent but also a way to make new connections within the community.
“I had never played any of my music live with a drummer before, and the energy on stage was electric,” Little Cat said. “I’m a huge fan of Langley Cerovich, who got first place tonight. He’s an incredible artist, so seeing him take first place was so sweet, and across the board, I was able to make so many connections with local musicians.”
After the artists graciously thanked the club and the people that helped the event come together, the MIC co-presidents Savannah Wanebo and Zoe Brandenstein took the stage to give final announcements and thank everyone for coming to the show.
“It feels so wonderful, truly, just being able to work with such talented people across a range of genres, and being able to create a space for them to just show off their talents to their friends, their teachers, just even like coworkers, like just all the people, and be able to share their gifts with everyone is really, really special,” Wanebo said. “And honestly, it’s such a sigh of relief to be able to see it all come together so beautifully and become just a successful event, which just means a lot to all of us who are involved.”
Brandenstein said that this show is special for artists because it gives them the ability to meet new people and share their music with other students in order to grow their listener base.
“There are so many talented musicians, but they don’t always have a network to show their gifts and show their talents,” Brandenstein said, “And so giving them that exposure, and then bringing the student body and saying,’ Hey, look at these really talented people that you walk past every single day,’ and have them follow them on social media and go to their events, I think it can just help push them in their career if they’re looking to pursue this further because that’s what college is about.”
