<ttle for musical glory has returned.
Ten Carleton student bands competed for some enticing prizes during last Friday’s Battle of the Bands. At the end of the night, after four hours playing, the judges finally selected the winners: Ashantology in first place and The Managers in second.
“I was shocked and excited about the win,” said Peter Briggs ‘14, a guitarist in Ashantology. “The Carleton music scene has always been really tight knit, but this year I was surprised by the number of awesome bands [that] I hadn’t heard of.”
Ashantology, which consists of members Briggs, Ashanti Soldier ’15, David Tullis ’12 and Joey Fishman ’13, was the judgesunanimous choice for first place.
“I think Ashantology was the clear winner because the band had such unique sound,” said Kelly O’Brien ’12, one of the student judges of the event. “No one else was doing the same level of original work as they were, and it really showed in their performance. I also really loved how they played with genre in their music and pushed the boundaries of what we typically label rap/hip-hop music.”
Soldier, the main rapper in the group, agreed with Briggs.
“I was pretty geeked when I heard Alsa announce we got first place,” he said. “I was standing next to David and Peter at the time, and I immediately embraced them in a massive bro-hug.”
Second place went to The Managers – Fishman, Max Kritzer ’13 and Alex Stevens ’12.
“The Managers were also a really fun band to watch. They brought a lot of raw energy to their set,” O’Brien said. “They had a great stage presence that we hope to give more exposure to through the Spring Concert performance.”
Soldier was excited to share the win.
“I don’t know if I was more excited about us winning, or The Managers joining us in the winners’ circle,” he said.
As the first place winners, Ashantology will be recording in Essential Studios in St. Paul, as well as playing on Jessica Paxton’s KYMN radio show, All Wheel Drive. Along with The Managers, they will also be playing at this year’s Spring Concert.
Erin Lopez ’13, a member of the Student Activities Programming Board, was pleased with how smoothly the night went after nearly four weeks of planning, which included reserving the Grand, finding judges and scheduling each band.
“Battle of the Bands has been held at the Grand for the past ten years,” she said. “The venue is great for a large crowd, and I think the bands enjoy being on stage but still [being] close to their audience.”
Soldier ultimately deemed the night a success.
“This experience has been righteous,” he said. “I have truly been lucky to have developed such great relationships with lots of musicians on campus, and general lovers of music.”