By LINDSEY TREFFRY INLAND360.COM
It’s a battle for the best at Washington State University’s ninth annual Battle of the Bands.
Ten bands submitted entries and were accepted to compete starting at 6 p.m. Monday, March 24, in the CUB Senior Ballroom. Bands will be vying for a paid performance to open up the WSU Springfest stage for Snoop Dogg.
A panel of judges and audience members will vote for their favorite bands, entering concertgoers into a raffle of prizes. Here are the competitors:
The Border Colleagues
Members of the puppy dubbed band include Caitlin Antes, Chris Antes, Sami Barber, Kyle Gonzales, Jackie Illario, Danielle Robert, Bryan Stansbury and Jessie Holley — all WSU veterinary students and friends. The Border Colleagues play mostly covers, but have a quickly expanding repertoire of originals.
Influenced by: Of Monsters and Men, Mumford and Sons, MGMT, The Shins, April Smith and the Great Picture Show, Weezer, Modest Mouse, The Decemberists, fun. and The Lumineers.
The Olson Bros Band
This Olympia country group, led by vocalists and brothers Luke and Isaac Olson, just finished their first album last year. Influenced by country, rock, hip hop and pop, the Olson Bros Band also includes James Blackburn on drums and Nate Collins on bass. On top of singing, Isaac plays guitar and mandolin, while Luke plays electric guitar and piano. Sounds like: Darius Rucker, Lee Brice, Zac Brown, Toby Keith, Big and Rich, Jason Aldean, Jake Owen and Billy Currington.
Tommy Cassidy
Hip-hop producer and emcee Tommy Cassidy has almost 12,000 views on YouTube. The Tri-Cities musician has a six-track album available for free download at tommycassidy.bandcamp.com.
Sounds like: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.
Tumble Down Badger
Tumble Down Badger is a trio of men with a fusion sound of soulful folk rock. Bruno sings and plays guitar, Jason plays drums and Branden plays bass and whamola, better known as the washtub bass.
Influenced by: Cake, Bob Marley, Matisyahu, The White Stripes, Sublime, Margot and the Nuclear So and Sos and Adele.
Johnny Hoffman and the Residents
Vocalist and guitarist Johnny Hoffman is from Everett, Wash., and following his WSU performance, will tour through Washington to Olympia, Seattle, Bellingham and more.
Influenced by: Queens of the Stone Age, The White Stripes, The Hives, Green Day and The Pixies.
Beyond Today
This four-member group recorded their debut EP just a couple weeks after forming years ago. Their first performance was at Moscow’s Rendezvous in the Park, while all of the members currently live in Lewiston. The early release of their song “Colors” made it into the Z-Rock Hall of Fame.
Influenced by: Muse, Theory of a Deadman, Seether, Mutemath, Incubus, Linkin Park, Alice in Chains, Sick Puppies, Audioslave, In This Moment and My Darkest Day.
Runaway Symphony Composed of mostly University of Idaho graduates, Runaway Symphony has Daniel Botkin on vocals and rhythm electric guitar, Jarin Bressler on keyboard and rhythm guitar, Chris Lowe as back-up vocalist and lead electric guitarist, Jason Oliveira on drums, percussion and backing vocals and AJ Stevens as bassist and backing vocals. This big band has big sound. Most recently, Runaway Symphony received a sterling review in Collect Spokane’s article “Spokane’s BEST 2013 // 10 Musical Moments” after performing at a Collect Secret Show, Terrain 2013, Spokane’s Garland Theatre and The Bartlett. Read more on the band, and a 2013 performance in Moscow, on Inland360.com.
Sounds like: Coldplay, One Republic, Sigur Ros, Explosions in the Sky and Mumford and Sons.
Flight Edition
This Clarkston group finds time to make music between classes and day jobs. The band’s got Eric Goodwin as lead vocalist, who also plays keys and acoustic guitar, Corey Clarke on drums and vocals, Caleb Carlyle on guitar and vocals, J.D. Legg on guitar, bass and vocals and Ryan Garris on bass
Sounds like: Coldplay, Phoenix and OneRepublic.
Medium Size Kids
Medium Size Kids is Shane Moffett (drums), John Doyle (guitar), Joseph Kashas (bass) and Kaylee Hillman (piano) — all of them sing. Beginning as a garage band in Camas, Wash., a small mill town east of Portland, Ore., the band has earned air time on some of Portland’s alternative radio stations. Known for their pranks, Medium Size Kids has many YouTube music and promotional videos to share.
Influenced by: Angels and Airwaves, Green Day and Blink 182.
Run From Cover
This vibe, pop rock group uses music to tell stories. Zac Mason, Stephen Donley, Andrew Luttrell, Zach “cuda” Case and Michael Tormanen stem from the Richland, Wash., area and are fans of Barcelona and Goodnight Argent.
Influenced by: Muse, Coldplay, Keane, Elbow and Black Keys. if you go WHAT: WSU Battle of the Bands WHEN: 6 p.m. Monday, March24. Doors open at 5 p.m. WHERE: CUB Senior Ballroom, WSU campus, Pullman COST: Free Treffry can be reached at (208) 883-4640 or ltreffry@inland360.com. Follow her on Twitter @LindseyTreffry.
