Bands battle it out in the Union
Tommy Gun Geisha took first place in the Battle of the Bands winning an hour of recording time at Pogo Studios in Champaign. The first place winners also won a 30-minute time slot at this year’s Panther Stock on April 15.
The University Board hosted the contest at the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union’s Grand Ballroom Wednesday night.
The first place winners are a five-man rock band. The drummer, Sean Walker, a graduate student in art, is the only member of the band that attends Eastern.
The second place winner was Spinning Chambers. Travis Shoot, a graduate student in English, was the only member of the band in attendance, making him a solo act for the night. Shoot won a 30-minute time slot at Charleston’s music festival, Squarefest on March 26.
Jacob Unterberger, a communication studies major, won the third place prize, a $30 iTunes gift card. Unterberger went by his stage name DJ Jay Physics while performing.
The musical competition was hosted by the UB and had five bands participate; Tommy Gun Geisha, Corndog People, Spinning Chambers, American Madness and DJ Jay Physics.
The band, Corndog People, kept the atmosphere light-hearted with a few of what they called, nonsensical song saying, “We’re not here to win.”
Alyssa Anderson, the UB vice chair and a senior psychology major, was in charge of the event along with Cassie Falco, the UB Main Stage Coordinator and a sophomore family and consumer science major.
Each band was given 15 minutes to perform their selected songs. Two judges decided the winners along with votes from the audience members.
Anderson and Falco gave audience members raffle tickets to vote for their favorite band. The votes were tallied up and the judges’ opinions were taken into consideration.
Unterberger said the competition is a great opportunity to showcase his music.
The majority of the bands played a version of rock music with the exception of Unterberger’s performance, which was a mix of techno beats and him playing live drums.
Olivia Angeloff can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].
Bands battle it out in the Union
Kevin Casey, lead singer of Tommy Gun Geisha, plays during Battle of the Bands Wednesday in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union’s Grand Ballroom. Tommy Gun Geisha took first place in the battle. (Danny Damiani
