Heat, intensity and screaming fans: everything you will find on the steps of Samuel Phillips Hall this Friday at 7:30 p.m. WPAA will be sponsoring the annual Phillips Academy Battle of the Bands, where student bands will scream, sing and shred for the ultimate title as the best band on campus. A panel of judges will decide the winner—American Idol style. The WPAA board, consisting of Julian Chernyk ’10, Nick Dean ’10 and Will Falk-Wallace ’10, hosted auditions this week and have decided upon the lineup for this year’s Battle of the Bands. One of the bands will be Capital K, consisting of seniors Kevin Ofori, Kyle Ofori, Moses Kim, Brendan Casey and Will Burke. Though Kevin Ofori was eliminated after the first round last year, he aspires to do better this year. “Let’s not talk about last year’s performance,” he said. He then went on to say, “Our first song [is] ‘Anna Molly’ by Incubus. It’s intended to be face-meltingly raw, and we hope impress. All our songs should be good.” His twin brother, Kyle Ofori, added, “All our songs will be good. Last year, we didn’t properly choose our songs in order of intensity. This year, we’ve got that all planned out. There will be costumes. Don’t miss it.” Another individual that will perform Friday is Henry Metro ’10, renowned for his eccentric performance last year. This year, his band, Henry Metro and Others, plans to do something equally bizarre and entertaining. Metro said, “Everyone should come to the Battle of the Bands. I most likely will be doing absurd things as I did last year. It’s a great time [where] bands come out to show their stuff! It’s just a warm, inviting, musical experience for all to enjoy.” Jeb Roberts ’11 will be performing in two bands, Four Corners and Purple Helmet and the Love Warriors, because of his exceptional guitar skills. He said, “We’ve prepared some really good songs. Everyone should come out because it’s going to be awesome. We’ve got really good competition this year. They’re like nine or ten bands. There’s going to be more heat than last year. I’ll [hurt] you if you don’t come.” Duncan Crystal ’10, lead singer of the ever-popular and defending Battle of the Bands champion 7 Layer Crunch Wrap Supreme also plans to perform. “We’re always pumped. [Battle of the Bands] is one of the things we really look forward to.” The Battle of the Bands has been upgraded this year, and Falk-Wallace said, “[There will be] a lot better bands, better music, better prize. “It’s just going to be a great show. There’ll be really good music, some really original songs. Everyone should come by Sam Phil,” said Chernyk. So if you find yourself bored this last weekend before summer vacation, if you’re tired of playing the same old four-square, you should come watch these bands, among many others, battle it out.
