The sixth annual Battle of the Bands took place last Friday night in front of a dancing and singing crowd.
Eight student bands performed in the Whittier Auditorium, including Supermassive Black Hole, Boeing 747, Road Trip, Freshman Rock Stars, The Monopoly, The Grapefruit??! and Rian/Grayson/Zach.
“Battle of the Bands is so fun because it’s high stakes and the standing crowd in the WAUD Auditorium also makes it so fun because you know the crowd is hyped,” said Joe Byrne, the bassist for The Grapefruit.
During the performances, students voted on bands by donating to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. The donations were given to the band of the voter’s choice and the band that raised the most money won.
The Monopoly, a band consisting of juniors, won the battle for the second year in a row.
The Monopoly band members include bassist Alex Parsky, drummer Wyatt Tailcoat, guitarists Mat Koretsky and Ferzam Mohammad, and vocalist Norell Sherman. Sherman was subbing in for usual vocalist Wesley Combs, who was unable to attend.
“Our set was really fun: we played ‘Gives You Hell’ by the [All-]American Rejects and ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ by Jet,” Koretsky said.
Students weren’t the only performers to jam on stage: AP Environmental Science and Honors Biology teacher Kelly Garton performed with students Rian Adamian and Grayson Jobst.
“I played with Rian and Grayson last year at Coffeehouse, so this year they asked if I would play at the Battle while they were tallying votes,” Garton said. “We never practiced. We just decided what songs we were gonna play and then ended up switching up some of the songs anyways.”
The event raised about $1,800—$300 more than last year.
“This year was possibly the most successful Battle of the Bands ever,” event coordinator Keara Sullivan said in a post on the Battle of the Bands Facebook group.
Unlike previous years, a mix of Leadership and Coffeehouse coordinators organized the event as Leadership shifts focus away from LLS and towards the Every 15 minutes campaign.
“The Whitman community has raised so much money; it’s so impressive, it’s mind boggling.” Garton said. “For me and all the students to be able to participate in this is an honor.”
