Rock the Wrench to showcase MU talent
Five bands will compete for the $500 prize.
Published Nov. 17, 2009
Memorial Union will become a musical battlefield Tuesday night as it hosts Rock the Wrench, a battle of the bands presented by the Student Union Programming Board and KCOU/88.1 FM that pits five bands against one another.
After students cast more than 28,000 votes online, a field of 13 bands was narrowed down to the five bands that will be performing Tuesday. The online segment of the competition was designed to familiarize the audience with the bands, often a problem with events like this, KCOU General Manager Jonathan Hutcheson said.
"We thought, 'What if we did a much longer rollout and took the submissions and incorporated an online voting segment, where people can actually listen to music from the bands, and get to know them a bit?' " Hutcheson said. "With that, you get the stronger bands or at least the bands that appeal to the most people as the bands who are playing."
The event is designed to feature the bands of students, many of whom are unjustly overlooked, Student Union Programming Board President Amanda Shelton said.
"Rock the Wrench is a large-scale version of an event that SUPB has put on in the past to better showcase MU talent and give it the attention it deserves," Shelton said. "Essentially, we decided that this isn't just going to be a talent show, it's going to be Rock the Wrench."
Evan Cottrell, who performs under the name What Machines Were, hates to classify his music by genre, instead calling it "happy music for happy people." As the only solo competitor, Cottrell has mixed emotions about the event.
"To be totally honest, I would prefer a panel of judges, but I'm not complaining," Cottrell said. "A person in the audience could love Band A's music but is obligated to vote for Band B because their friend is in it. On the positive side, it gives me a chance to stand out. I will be the only acoustic act and I am pretty excited."
Bad Dog Stay saw Rock the Wrench as an opportunity to get its friends together on a Tuesday night, drummer Beau Rothwell said. He described the band's music as "louder than a bread box" and attributed its success to the dedication of friends.
"Social networking helped immensely, but basically we just called and texted everyone and hassled them to vote until voting closed," Rothwell said.
The Red Resistance has already recorded an album of 13 songs. The band campaigned for votes on the KCOU Web site by calling the event its chance at fame, however small.
"We will rock you, sock you and party like no other band," the band said on KCOU's Web site.
Envy the Cookbook, a newly formed band with only one recording to their name, made the top five after playing just two shows as a group. The band's bassist, Jeff Clayton, said his band is the most musically talented of the finalists.
"We're a progressive band," Clayton said. "It's a lot of guitar work, not a lot of vocals, a strong bassist. Some classic rock, some jam band stuff. I guess it's kind of hard to describe."
Nick Spina, lead singer and keyboardist of Nick and the Fireflies, calls his band's music unique. As the only band in the competition without a guitar, Spina said the group works to make its performances intense and intimate at the same time to make up for the untraditional instrumentation.
"Rock the Wrench is an exceptional opportunity to gain exposure and increase our fan base," Spina said. "We also wanted to the chance to meet and compete against other local bands. The $500 prize doesn't hurt either."