Collective ConXcience

The Residence Hall Association rocked out Wednesday with the Battle of the Bands in the Greek Theatre. Eight bands competed for prizes and a chance to play in April at RHA's annual Crawfish Boil. The first place winner was Sounds Like A Revolution, with Benwell in second and Collective ConXcience in third. A variety of sounds were represented at Battle of the Bands. Everything from rap to indie to blues rock to electronica was featured. Each band performed a ten-minute set. Sounds Like A Revolution combined an eclectic form of folk and pop to win first place. Featuring a variety of instruments and wistful sing-alongs, the Mandeville band exhibited a tightness that, according to the judges, none of the other bands could match. "They were just very synchronized in the way they performed, and their sound and imagery were great," said James Brown, ECA residential life coordinator and Battle of the Bands judge. Brown explained the judging criteria. "We were looking at both performance and sound, and Sounds Like A Revolution had the best combination of both," Brown said. Sounds Like A Revolution is a boy-girl five-piece made up of University and Baton Rouge Community College students. Members are Joshua Blaylock, Aaron Kimball, Laura Morris, Sarah Morris and Brittany Sharp. "We were nervous at first, but it ended up great, and seeing everybody else got us ready to play," Sarah Morris said. Sharp said the band doesn't have much planned for the future yet. "We try to play around Baton Rouge and Mandeville, and we take any shows we can get," Sharp said. "We have a few songs recorded on our Myspace.com page, and we are playing a benefit concert on April 7 in Baker and now the Crawfish Boil. But that's about it for now." Second-place winners Benwell played blues and rockabilly influenced rock 'n' roll. Lead singer and guitarist Bryce Cain, a Catholic High School senior, said he thought Battle of the Bands was a success. "It was a cornucopia of music styles," Cain said. "I'm glad it wasn't just one type of music, and I'm really happy we finished second." Katrina Bell, RHA programming director, said the event ran smoothly. "I think it was wonderful. The bands were great, and the turnout was good," Bell said. Bell was happy with the winners and said she was excited to see them play at the Crawfish Boil. "The bands were wonderful, and I'm really glad we will have them playing," Bell said. In addition to Sounds Like A Revolution, Benwell and Collective Conxcience; Gambit Steel, Thisket, Rural Route 9, Cletus Jenkins & the Dirty Rollers and Got No Tang performed. All three winners will perform at RHA's annual Crawfish Boil in April. In addition, Sounds Like A Revolution received a $100 gift certificate to Guitar Center and Benwell won a $50 gift certificate to the electronics store FYE. Battle of the Bands was scheduled for this past Thursday, but rain forced its postponement. Jambalaya and lemonade were served for audience and band members. Three campus residential life coordinators served as judges.

----- Contactc Ryan Duncan at rduncan@lsureveille.com - The Daily Reveille (Louisiana State Uinversity)