Who Got Talent?
Minus one member and a drum set, Upon the Eighth Night still managed to take home first prize at a talent competition in Lumpkin Auditorium Sunday night.
The four performing members improvised on the small stage in the auditorium playing an original song and a cover of the Mars Volta’s “Televators.”
The band was happy about their food gift certificates candy bag winnings, although the prizes weren’t what brought them out to the Eastern’s Got Talent event hosted by the Association of Honors Students (AHS).
“We wanted to get our music out there,” said lead singer and special education major Erin Miller.
The band has been playing together for about a year and plays benefits and local venues like the Jackson Avenue Coffee, said guitarist and junior sociology major Adam Schneider. Bryant Fritz, a sophomore biology major, and Andy Masters, a sophomore philosophy major, rounded out the rest of the band.
“I think we did OK,” Schneider said. “We feel pretty solid about it. There were some really cool people here.”
The eight performing acts didn’t make it easy for the judges, said Mahwish Yosuaf, AHS secretary and one of the five competition judges.
“It was tough to judge because all the acts were incredible,” Yosuaf said. “We were happy with the turnout.”
Another group getting a lot of attention and taking home third place was E.J. Singson and Marlee Lutz, who played an instrumental piece E.J. described as indie progressive.
The duo has only been playing together for a couple of weeks but are regulars at Jackson Avenue Coffee.
“We were kind of looking for different exposure,” Singson said. “There’s not a lot of places around here that give us the opportunity.”
Singson used a pedal board with seven effects, while Marlee followed along improvising with her drums.
Second place went to Dan O’Brien for singing and playing two songs on his guitar.
Paul Terefi, the only non-musical performer of the night grabbed the fourth place spot with his impersonations of celebrities like Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro.
Who Got Talent?
E.J. Singson, sophomore history major, plays his guitar at Eastern’s Got Talent in Lumpkin Hall. Michael Peterson/The Daily Eastern News
