Battle of the Bands tradition lives on

Bands prepare for competition

Student+band+Dopeamine+performs+during+the+Feb.+16+pep+fest+previewing+the+upcoming+Battle+of+the+Bands.+Dopeaminemembers+and+juniors+Ben+Romain%2C+Liam+Sivanich%2C+Lukas+Levin+were+joined+by+sophomore+Martin+Scalici+for+a+one+time+performance+during+the+pep+fest.+Battle+of+the+Bands+takes+place+Feb.+23+in+the+HS+cafeteria+at+7+p.m.+

Mira Swartz

Student band “Dopeamine” performs during the Feb. 16 pep fest previewing the upcoming Battle of the Bands. “Dopeamine”members and juniors Ben Romain, Liam Sivanich, Lukas Levin were joined by sophomore Martin Scalici for a one time performance during the pep fest. Battle of the Bands takes place Feb. 23 in the HS cafeteria at 7 p.m.

As junior Liam Sivanich prepares for Battle of the Bands, he looks forward to participating in an event during Sno Daze week and introducing new music to the audience.

“(Battle of the Bands) gives people a chance to unwind and have a little fun and listen to some new stuff that they haven’t heard a lot of,” Sivanich said.

According to Student Council adviser Sarah Lindenberg, Battle of the Bands has occurred as  an event during Sno Daze week for many years and engages a different audience than some of the other events taking place during the week.

“It’s traditional. I do not know how many years it has been done before Sno Daze, but at least since I was a student here, which was 15 years ago,” Lindenberg said. “(Battle of the Bands) attracts a different crowd and gives an activity for people who maybe do not want to do the sporting events.”

Junior Ben Romain, keyboard player for the band Dopeamine, said Battle of the Bands is a good way for students to hear their music and for him to listen to other bands play.

“I think it is cool to perform at the school because the people who go to the school can have a chance to go to one of our concerts,” Romain said. “ Also it is cool to see other bands perform at Battle of the Bands because you can see a lot of different stuff.”

Lindenberg said the school band was not able to play at the pep fest to introduce Sno Daze week Feb. 16, so the bands participating in Battle of the Bands played their music instead.

“The school band was not able to perform, so we thought we would do a different musical thing to introduce the pep fest,” Lindenberg said. “There happened to be more students doing Battle of the Bands, so some of the Student Council members reached out to those bands to participate.”

Sivanich, who plays rhythm guitar for the band Dopeamine, said playing at the pep fest helped promote their band at Park.

“(Playing in the pepfest) is good for our band because it give us a chance to be known a little more and it introduces new music to students and faculty.”

According to Lindenberg, two bands are currently signed up for the competition, but more bands can sign up anytime before the event.

“Two bands are for sure (participating). (Bands) can sign up during lunch at the Student Council Sno Daze table,” Lindenberg said. “(Student Council)  would prefer to know at least a day before like by next Wednesday, but as late as Thursday bands can still sign up.”

Battle of the Bands takes place at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 in the High School cafeteria.