Downfall fell from grace last Christmas, after fire swept through a house belonging to drummer Zac Richman's cousin, laying ruin to the band's equipment.
"Our original name was Lucky 13," lead singer Dusty Phelps said. "That kind of explains it all."
"We had a lot of bad luck as a whole," Richman said. "When the fire hit, we were like, 'You got to be kidding me.' We said, 'Listen, let's try to get a fresh start, change our name and struggle through.'"
The group has since risen from the ashes, and last month won the grand finale at the Battle of the Bands at Dill Street Bar and Grill. The epic battle stretched out over two months and featured 32 bands from around Indiana. Downfall competed against Oblique (who came in second), Slow Mary and the Wayside in the final installment to win $1,000 and a headlining spot at the Midwest Music Summit in August, the area's largest gathering of recording industry executives.
"I think we all feel pretty privileged," Richman said. "That's definitely a huge event, and we're glad to play with more bands. Hopefully we'll learn something more about the music industry."
Downfall got its start two and a half years ago with Richman, Phelps, and guitarist Adam Eakes. Bassist Brian Clemons came on board six months later. Between sips of Keystone and laughter at Austin Powers, they describe the group's musical style as soft, acoustic alternative, a compromise between Phelps' country and bluegrass influences and Richman's background in rock.
During the week, band members hold regular jobs. Phelps, the only current Ball State student in the group, works at the registrar's office, while Clemons, Eakes and Richman work at Ball Memorial Hospital, Jay Crew Landscaping and LJ Stone, respectively. The group, Eakes said, is a poor one.
"There are a lot of bands who are able to put all their money back into the band," he said, "but a lot of bands put the money they make into bills. They can't afford to put it back. We're one of those."
Most of the prize money went toward new equipment. After the fire, the band got by with renting or borrowing other groups' equipment, but even a year later had to go into Dill Street with damaged goods.
"We played torched drums from the fire, and the guys who were setting it up got black stuff all over them, and they looked at me and said, 'What in the world is this?'" Richman said. "All the cymbals were split and charred and melted."
Members felt the battle was a long-overdue effort to revitalize the Muncie music scene.
"I know that there is a lot of music in this area that people don't know about," Richman said. "There are plenty of basement bands, but not many venues for them to play in around here."
"You have to pretty much live off of house parties, frat parties, whatever you can get," Eakes said. "Basically, the bands have to fend for themselves. This was the biggest showcase for Muncie music, even if some of the bands came from out of town."
The lack of venues, Phelps said, drives local bands into the more difficult Fort Wayne and Indianapolis markets.
"There are a ton of bands in those huge areas getting play time," Richman added. "And then you're coming from here where nobody knows about you, because you're not playing in your area. It makes it twice as hard."
The band recently cut an 11-track demo CD. Ultimately they hope to sign with a major record label.
"That's something we talk about every day, and wonder what it would be like," Richman said. "I think if there had been some representatives from music companies there (at the battle), they would have been really surprised with the talent they had there. There were a lot of bands that didn't move on that really impressed me."
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