Bands battle for WXJM air time

Local group of alumni, students wows crowd

Evan Dyson / senior photographer Kevin Davis, lead vocalist of Likewise, sung to a large crowd Friday night at the Cups-To-Go Battle of the Bands. The band won first place in the battle, and was awarded the prize of airtime on WXJM.

Amidst parties and the usual Friday night revelry, another kind of entertainment was happening not far from the JMU bubble. In Harrisonburg’s newest coffeehouse, Cups-to-Go, a crowd gathered for the venue’s first "Battle of the Bands."

Kicking off the night was "Graywater Stills," made up of seniors Bubba Beasley and Elizabeth Davies, junior Adam Gendell, sophomore Aaron Spring, Kai Eason and Charlottesville resident Jack Gray. The band has a difficult time defining their sound, Beasley said. "It’s an emerging property...of all of our styles coming together," he said. Integrating instruments like the electric banjo and the saxophone, Graywater Stills certainly has achieved an eclectic and innovative result.

The next performer was the self-described high-energy acoustic three-man band, Chasing Relevance. Lead singer and guitarist Darryl Sakach is from Radford University, drummer Chaz Ross from George Mason and backup vocalist and bassist David Stiefel is one of our own JMU Dukes. As a result of the distance between them, they have had a lot of last-minute practices, Stiefel said.

After Chasing Relevance, Candide got ready to take the stage. Candide consists of JMU graduates Matt Morrell and Dean Fitzgerald (’04), seniors Tim Van Schaick and Branden Henderson and sophomore Matt Arduini. Formed last October, Candide’s sound emerged from a common love of rock and roll and influences like The Rosebuds, Elvis Costello and The Lucksmiths, Arduini said. "All of the band’s support has come from people wanting to hear our music and a strong music community in Harrisonburg," Arduini said.

In every music festival, there is at least one solo act, and in this case, that act was junior Steven Courson of AtinyPOCKET. With nine years of experience on piano and four and a half years with the guitar, Courson is no newbie to the stage — he’s been performing for about as long as he has been playing guitar. With influences such as Incubus, Elliot Smith and Our Lady Peace, Courson’s own style is just as diverse as the groups he listens to. "None of my songs sound the same because you can’t just stick to the same genre," he said.

Following Courson was the out-of-town Likewise, from Woodbridge, Va. Band members Matt Daniel, Will Hailstone, John De Lacy, Kevin Davis and Eloy Reyes hail from a number of different schools and careers, but they all met through friends. Likewise is certainly no stranger to the stage but Davis said the Cups-to-Go performance was his most exciting show.

Wrapping up the lineup was Dangus Kahn and the Tornados. This "jam rock’n jazzyfunk" band, as described by sophomore Will Schneider, formed a little over a year ago, with Schneider singing lead and playing guitar, sophomore Brad Frost playing bass and, the band’s namesake, sophomore Dan Gus Kahn playing drums. The band’s musical influences are evident in both their pre-show preparation and performed songs.

The top three bands, Likewise (first place), Dangus Khan (second place) and Candide (third place) won airtime on WXJM to talk about their music, so stay tuned.