On stage for Vintage Days: 12 bands to battle it out, Saturday
By Katie Hicks
The Collegian
The 12 bands signed up for Saturday’s Battle of the Bands competition agree that Vintage Days is one of the best places for local up and coming bands to showcase their talent and build a fan base.
“It’s not so much about winning the competition,” said Jesse Dibble of Secret to Keep. “We just hope there are a lot of people there and we gain some new fans. That would be awesome.”
The five members of Secret to Keep, all from Selma and Fowler, started playing together eight months ago and Dibble said they have a sound all their own.
“It’s punkish with some screaming, but it’s not overwhelming,” Dibble said. “A lot of our guys are influenced by classic rock.”
The Battle of the Bands competition is an annual event at Fresno State’s Vintage Days, and offers the community the chance to hear a wide array of local talent and style.
Gary Price, the guitarist from Blank Logic, said his band has more of a catchy pop style but it doesn’t change with the trends.
“We’ve been together for four years and we are true to our style,” Price said. “Some of our songs are really mellow and some are crazy, it just depends how we are feeling.”
Blank Logic is based out of Chowchilla and Turlock, the members’ hometowns. Price said his band is influenced by everyone from MXPX to Stevie Wonder.
The Fresno-based band Camera recently took a year off and is using Vintage Days as a warm-up concert to a couple of shows they have scheduled in the next few months, said musician Robert Collier.
“I used to work at Fresno State and the Battle of the Bands looked pretty cool,” Collier said. “I’ve always wanted to play in the Satellite Student Union.”
The 12 bands that will be performing include Argyle Pimps, Autco, Blank Logic, Camera, Colored Pictures, Euphoria, Our Lost Cause, Secret to Keep, Shoebox Confessions, STEREOtype, The South Class Citizen and West Howard.
Rachel White, concert coordinator for Vintage Days, took applications and auditioned each band that entered to perform Saturday. The bands were selected based on their style and whether or not their music could be presented to the community at Vintage Days, White said.
“It’s all good music,” White said. “It’s all local talent and it’s a good opportunity to hang out with friends and have a good time.”
White said there is no assigned order so the bands will play as they arrive.
Each band will have a set-up period, 10 minutes to perform and then must tear down their equipment.
Judges will then determine the winner and a cash prize will be awarded.
The Battle of the Bands competition will run from 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday at the Satellite Student Union.
Admission is $5 for students and $7 for general admission. Students must have ID to receive the discounted price.
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