Country band triumphs in battle
Published March 9, 2004
For Mootz Moody and the Prairie Hawk Band, singing about alcohol and relationships gone bad was enough to win the second Battle of the Bands competition sponsored by the Missouri Students Association Department of Student Activities.
"We don't sing about anything brainy, just breakups and drinking," lead singer Moody said during his band's set. "We're a country band, that's all we write about."
On Saturday night, the country crooners beat out four other bands to win $500 and a slot in the Big Free Music Festival to be held on Stop Day.
"It's great," Moody said. "It's really a surprise. I really thought Shine was going to win."
Shine, a funk band, received $100 for a third-place showing.
The punk rock band No Tengo Amigos placed second and received $300.
"This was fantastic, absolutely excellent," No Tengo Amigos singer and drummer Bert Clark said.
No Tengo Amigos broke up before the Battle of the Bands, but reconciled their differences to play in the show.
"We're back together out of boredom," Clark said. "Chris (Williams) and I use Comomusic.com a lot, and it was posted on there. We decided to send in a demo and see what happened."
Rock bands Yellow T-Shirt and John Henry and the Engine also participated in the event.
Unlike last year, this year's Battle of the Bands' admission was free.
"We had to pay the host last year, so it cost more money to produce," DSA director David Crawford said.
Students and local fans, some wearing yellow clothing in support of Yellow T-shirt, filled Jesse Auditorium to see the bands face off. Attendees danced and jumped around while the bands played. Many bands played cover songs, and No Tengo Amigos performed a punk version of the "Muppet Babies" theme song.
Six judges rated the bands on a 100-point scale, organizer Nicholas Gertsema said. They were judged on elements such as musicianship and crowd response.
To participate in the battle, bands had to send a CD to the music committee, which then decided what bands would play the show, Crawford said.
"It took about half a day to whittle the finalists down to six bands," he said.
The sixth band dropped out of the show, Crawford said.
"It all came together pretty well," Gertsema said. "The template for the show was set last year, so we just had to put the pieces into place."
Moody said the battle was a great experience and he is excited to play in the Big Free Music Festival.
"We're just a bunch of guys who have day jobs and love music," he said.