Battle Of The Bands Brings Heat Friday

Check, check, check...

All things checked out just fine for the fourth annual Battle of the Bands hosted by Wildwood Middle School Friday evening.

The evening roared as the battle of music got underway. The "house" was packed with students, parents, teachers and supporters. Admission was $5 per ticket.

This is the fourth year that hosted the competition, with seven bands playing for the prestige of being deemed "the best band" at school. The stage was set with equipment and illuminated with special lights that made the event look like it came from a band playing at a local amphitheater.

Screaming fans five rows deep kept the place jumping while the judging was set up American Idol style, with three judges looking on.  Each band played one song after each band played; they then started back to the first band to play another song, going through the list of bands. After each band played, one of the three judges then critiqued that band with a few words of encouragement.

Jennifer Porter, Wildwood Middle's basketball coach and foreign language instructor, and her brother Scott Porter, who is a professional singer/song writer, came up with the battle of the bands idea several years back.

"There are so many kids that take lessons for so long, and they end up just playing for their families, or sitting in their rooms playing by themselves. This is a good way to get them out to be heard," said Porter. "Plus, it gives the kids a safe place to be on a Friday night."

Scott Porter supplies the equipment for the event. He travels nationwide on college tours, singing as a solo artist, and has an extensive musical background. 

Scott Porter also served as one of the judges for the night. Alongside him was judge Mike Steinkamp, who is in a band with Wildwood's own music teacher, Mark McHale, for the past seven years. Steinkamp plays the base guitar in their band called "The Retro Nerds."

"We play a lot of '80s and '90s music, and dress up like total nerds," said Steinkamp.

The other judge, Marty Schroeder, stood in as the judge last year as well. "They must have liked me so much, they asked me back this year," Schroeder said.

"Last year, it was like a Battle of the Bands marathon. There were 11 bands and even a tornado warning, where we had to all go take cover, then continue after the threat passed."

All three judges had wonderful comments about each band after they played. Some things said were:  "Your song selection was awesome," "Great job drawing the crowd in," "The energy of the band was great," and "Way to start the show!"

Due to current music including questionable lyrics and sometimes bad language or implied inappropriate content, all of the students in the bands had to have their chosen songs approved by McHale and Porter before their bands started practicing. Each band member also had to sign a contract for appropriate guidelines for the music played and behavioral code of conduct.  

This year's best band title went to the group who call themselves "TripWire."