Mask and Wig Few acts on campus are as old as Mask and Wig. Founded in 1888, this band is by far the most established one you will hear at the upcoming competition. Led by bandmaster Charles Lynch, the Mask and Wig band is a musical army — a whopping nine members round out the roster. Mask and Wig plays only covers but traverses genres with ease, jumping from jazz to funk to hip hop to rock 'n' roll. One of the only touring groups in the show, the band also has the annual honor of performing in the Lower Quad for Spring Fling, which they recall as some of their most epic (and naked) performances.
Pan-Am Pan-Am, who claims to be a mix of BoyzIIMen and Jimmy Buffet, has an old school rock sound heavily influenced by Brit pop, but also exhibits a southern rock style reminiscent of early Kings of Leon. Unlike many other groups, Pan-Am will be playing original songs. An experienced group together since high school, Pan-Am can be expected to rock this festival as they have countless others, including the Milwaukee Summerfest. One day these guys might chat with Oprah (a self-professed goal), but for now College Green is their stage.
Penn Rock Hailing from Hill and Riepe, Penn Rock is the only all-freshman group in the Battle of the Bands. The members met during the first week of class, and have been bringing the noise to Riepe’s basement ever since. Though the Battle of the Bands will be their first show, Penn Rock promises to pack a potent alternative/classic rock punch (think equal parts Led Zeppelin and Nirvana). They plan to give the crowd a taste of the excessive volume that their neighbors in the Quad have experienced and hope to prove that, even though they may be at the bottom of the campus food chain, they can rock right up there with the upperclassmen.
Redheads are Trouble Redheads Are Trouble, named after singer/guitarist Drew Samoyedny’s scandalous personal experience, is bringing its folk rock sound to the Battle. This recently formed band is sure to put on a fun and lively show full of unexpected elements. In fact, most of the drumming on their new tracks was played on a Captain Crunch cereal box. It’s that spontaneity and vivacity that originally brought founders Samoyedny and Christian Albornoz together at summer camp. Their musical tastes are just as unpredictable, citing Weezer and Bob Saget as influences, while also covering Miley Cyrus's “Party in the USA” for good measure. Redheads are Trouble will be putting it all out there on Saturday, so consider yourself warned.
Sex Panther Sex Panther first started jamming together as freshmen, but really set the wheels in motion this past summer when all six members lived together in a house on 42nd Street. Since then, they’ve played at a number of fraternities and bars around campus and have become the house band at Panda Bar. Frat parties are their favorite places to play, however, because "the sweatier, the better." The band’s sound is "of the recently revitalized ‘eargasm’ sub-genre. It’s funky, groovy, rock n’ roll-y, hip-hoppy and sexy." Though they’re still developing their own original material, count on hearing Sex Panther play funky covers of your favorite party songs. Unlike at some of their previous shows, we’re pretty sure the cops won’t intervene this time around.
Stone Kansas Stone Kansas got its name when Ringo Starr showed up in a dream, demanding that the members name their band as such. Self-proclaimed proponents of good old fashioned rock 'n' roll, the members have known each other since kindergarten and have played together since their freshman year of high school. Today you can catch them doing late nights at Smoke’s, playing covers of artists like the Beatles, the Allman Brothers and Jimi Hendrix. According to the band, they’ll play whatever people want to hear, so be sure to have your requests lined up.
Young Broke Romantics What’s in a name? For the Young Broke Romantics, "the name just kind of fit: we’re young, we’re broke and we only care about creating beautiful music." The band’s show at the Compass on Wednesday was an effort to raise money to help fight breast cancer, and at their show on Saturday they plan to hold a collection for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Rapper/bassist Alec Bleday and multi-instrumentalist/singer Dan Higgins don’t know exactly what they’re going to play until they hit the stage. However, expect to hear some free-style rapping over instrumental tracks that draw from a wide variety of influences, including “everything from Milli Vanilli to Bob Dylan to A Tribe Called Quest to Blink 182"
