Rock Gods Smile upon OEHS Battle of the Bands

Rock 'n' roll is here to stay could have been the anthem at Saturday night as the school hosted its second annual Battle of the Bands show. 

“We had such great response last year, we decided to do it again,” says June Charlett, coordinator for the big night.

Sponsored by OEHS Senior Celebration, the Battle of the Bands is its primary fundraiser. Senior Celebration is a “Lock In” party for the Oswego East High School seniors.

The Battle of the Bands was open to any amateur band. Bands participated from Oswego and surrounding communities like Aurora, Winfield, Plainfield and Naperville. Band members ranged in age from seventh-graders to rockers in their mid-30s.

Each band submitted a demo recording and printed lyrics.  Entry was free, but each band had to earn their way on stage by selling 30 tickets for the show. 

Each band played a 10-minute set, which was scored by judges. Judge Ashton Clark of 24/7 Mixtapes explained why he accepted the invitation to be a judge.

“I wanted to give back to the community, and it is fun to help others grow as artists. Listening to good music is also a big plus.”

Clark, also detailed what he looks for in a band—good energy and who command the stage. They need to have a good relationship with the audience. Finally, they must be good musicians.

After the initial judging, the top scoring bands each performed for an additional 10 minutes. Those performances were judged again. The top scoring band from the second set wins first place.

Saturday night One Twenty West won first place.  Fluid Impulse came in second. Emoticon finished third.  Wings of Summer and MakeBelieves were fourth and fifth.

One Twenty West consists of Colleen Fazio, a junior who plays bass, Jeric Tumang (keyboards) and Grey Taxon (vocals & guitar) who are both sophomores and Drake Taxon (drums) who is in seventh grade.

The band has been playing publicly for two years. They have performed at Plainfield Fest, Six Flags Great America and several middle schools. Saturday night's win was their fourth battle of the bands win. The immediate future for One Twenty West will focused on writing songs, recording and school.

As first prize winners, One Twenty West has won 10 hours of recording time at Apocalypse Cow Recording Studio. They will, also, perform as an opening act at America's Historic Roundhouse. Second prize winner, Fluid Impulse will get a six-hour recording session at Apocalypse Cow Recording. Third prize for “Emoticon” is a five-hour recording session at Gremlen Recording Studio.

All three bands will have a Sunday night performance at America's Historic Roundhouse and a performance at Sk8 Jamboree at the May 21 opening celebration of the new Oswego Park District Skate Park. The top five bands will perform at Live 59's Battle of the Bands Championship Night.

Editor's note: We'll have lots more photos from the show Thursday in our Viewfinder feature.

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