The University Program Board is hosting their first Battle of the Bands tonight from 6:30 to 10:00 p.m. at the Student Center Ballroom.
"I wanted to give some local bands a venue to show off their talents," program director Ashleigh Morgan, who came up with the idea for the event, said.
The event is free for Ball State students, and $1 for guests.
The acts are looking forward to proving themselves to the Ball State community and music scene.
Apathy Wizards
Apathy Wizards was formed in the middle of November of 2010. The folk rock band members Ben Forst, Sibley Barlow, April Echlin, Weston Morgan and Thor Goodman already knew each other before forming a band. Goodman started writing music and met up with guitarist Forst who put music to the lyrics. Later they gathered three other friends and began playing.
Goodman said the band picked the name Apathy Wizards because of their attitude towards their music.
"We do not try hard, but have received a lot of support," Goodman said.
Chelsea Erickson
Chelsea Erickson has been singing and playing guitar for four years. Erickson has never taken any voice lessons besides singing in the choir in middle school. She has performed at The Living Room, American Legion and at Open Mic Night at Ball State. The maximum amount of people she has performed in front of is 50. One of her favorite songs to perform is a love song she wrote called "Cords I'd Use." She also enjoys playing and singing "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson. Even though she considers singing a hobby, she wants people to hear her music.
"I want to get my name out there and get recognition," she said.
Maewest
The rock band Maewest was formed eight months ago. Two of the four members, Dustin Duncan and Alex Czaplinski, went to high school together. They got together to play, then invited two other friends, Quinton Maximoff and Eric Meginnis to become members. The band has three scheduled practices a week for three to four hours. Maewest has a composed a total of six songs, and is working on recording a full length CD over the summer.
One of their favorite songs to perform is "City Walls." Maewest has performed at several locations here in Muncie, but they also like doing house shows.
"We want to get music out there and a bigger fan base here in Muncie," Duncan said.
Dominick Duff
Aspiring rapper Dominick Duff started rhyming and rapping four years ago. He has never taken any voice lessons, but has taken piano lessons. Duff put out his first album last month called "Live Free." He composed and wrote all of the songs, his favorite being "Free at Last." It is the last song he composed, and he believes it has a better sound production than the others. Duff likes to use different metaphors and raps about real life situations.
"I love doing it as a hobby, but would also like to make a living out of it," Duff said.
Astral Ataraxis
The psychedelic rock band Astral Ataraxis formed about two years ago when two of the three band members, David Polakoff and Jimmy Bell, started hanging out at a basement and playing music. After inviting Brent Caraway, the band started practicing. The instrumental band meets three times a week for two hours to practice. One of their favorite songs to perform is "Lost Track of Numbers" by Jimi Hendrix.
"We are not an album band. We belief in performing live," Polakoff said.
Astral Ataraxis is doing a live show on March 11 at a bar called Locals Only in Indianapolis.
Mai Nguyen
Soloist Mai Nguyen has been singing since she was in kindergarten.
"This is my passion, I just want to perform," Nguyen said.
Nguyen also participated in show choir performances before coming to Ball State and has performed solos in front of a thousand people. She has performed at Open Mic Night at Ball State. Doing karaoke with her family is something she does often and enjoys. One of her favorite songs to perform is "My Prayer" by Eric Benet.
When, Not If
This rock/jam band was formed in October of 2008. Stephen Hopkins and Grady Ray were the ones who came up with the idea of starting a band and later added Travis Dearborff, Bryan Ayers and Joe Fawcett. The band has written 25 to 30 songs. Their favorite song to perform is "Junglebook."
"[The band name] is about life in general, if you are persistent and passionate it's not if you will get it done, but when," Hopkins said.
Jim Gedda
Soloist Jim Gedda has been singing for four years. Gedda got his first guitar his senior year in high school and began composing songs.
"I've never taken any voice lessons, it all has been self taught," Gedda said.
His favorite song to perform is "You Never Called Me by My Name" by David Allen Coe. Gedda has performed at Ball State before, and has been on Talent Search twice.
The Goodnight Fields
The alternative/rock band was formed when the members were in marching band their freshman year. The band members have changed frequently, but it's now composed of Blake Mohler, Suzanne Dennis, Bianca Russelburg and Pat Hannon. They have also composed about 20 songs.
In a way the name reminds them of the corn fields in Indiana.
"The band name was picked because we do not want to forget where we came from," Mohler said.
Battle of the Bands won't be the band's first Muncie performance. The Goodnight Fields have performed at Doc's Music Hall and The Silo.
The Willows
The Indie rock band was formed in 2006, but did not get serious until 2008. The members are Jacob Gumbell, Joseph Creech, Jared Jones and Connor Stobaugh. The band name was picked because it is the street name where two of the group members grew up on. Gumbell said practices are difficult because he lives in Muncie, and the rest of the band members live in Bloomington. Even though it is hard for them to get together, they managed to record an album called "Sometimes I'm Ancient."
The Willows are excited to play at Battle of the Bands.
"This will be our first show in Muncie. We want to get our name out there," Gumbell said.
D. Bane
Dillon Bane is a rapper who started rhyming when he was in 8th grade. He has composed many songs and has an album out called "Progression." The album contains 17 songs, his favorite being "Cost of Loving." Bane said in the future he would like to h tour with other solos or bands. The maximum amount of people he has performed in front of has been 300 to 400 people, but this will be the first time performing for the Ball State community.
The Day After
This rock band was formed in 2008 by childhood friends Chris Aveline and Kevin Kirk during their senior year in high school. They then added Conner Jones, Dan Herring and Jacob Rangel. The band practices when they have time, which is usually once a week. In January of this year, they released their first album called "Dangers of Being Young." The Day After likes to perform "Don't Turn Your Back" the most. The only place the band has performed in Muncie is Village Green Records.
"We haven't performed much around her so we want to prove ourselves to Ball State," Kirk said.
Part-time Hero
This pop/punk band was formed about five years ago by Nathan Bergman and Chris Woolum. They then invited Abe Underhill, Josh Osborne and Andrew Wills to join them. The band practices eight hours a week, but also practices individually. They have composed 30 songs and are working on putting out an album soon. Their favorite song to perform is "This Town Isn't Good Enough for Both of Us."
They will also be performing in Warped Tour this summer, and they are also looking forward to performing at Battle of the Bands.
"Why not perform? It is a good opportunity," Bergman said.
Scales
The Indie rock band was formed about a year ago. The members are Austin Hayden, Ben Latimer, Dace Mc Dermand, Josh Hicks, Carrington Clinton and Drewski Philpot. Scales has composed about ten songs and they have performed at many house parties in Muncie. Scales has also performed at last year's McKinley Mile. They are also working on recording an album that will be called "Dakota Fanning." The band does not practice much unless learning new material.
"We have been playing our songs for a long time so we do not practice a lot, but when we are learning new songs we do," Hayden said.
Can I Get One?
This rock band was formed about a year ago and is comprised of Zach Varas, Chris Green, Zach Burrin and Cass Campbel. All the band members are from Westfield, Ind. They have written three songs and practice once a week for several hours. Their favorite song to perform is "Rock n' Roll" by Led Zeppelin. Can I Get One? has performed at the Indianapolis 500 before. They are excited to perform at Battle of the Bands because it will be their first show for the Ball State community.
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