The University Board and The Daily Eastern News have been working together to bring the campus a Battle of the Bands event at 7 p.m. today.

Six musical acts will take the stage of the Grand Ballroom in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union, and the winner will go home with a $150 gift card to Guitar Center.

Each of the acts performing have received space on The DEN Web site, DENnews.com, where students can listen to their music and vote on their favorites.

Tyler Angelo, a senior journalism major and editor in chief of The DEN, said this voting was helpful in promoting the bands and DENnews.com.

“Originally, it was going to be the top five bands that got the most number of votes would play at the actual show, but that’s not the case,” Angelo said. “Now there’s actually six total so (Lauren Phillips said) ‘We’ll just have all six play in the show.'”

Phillips, mainstage coordinator for the UB, has worked with The DEN on the Battle of the Bands in the past and enjoys seeing a diverse group of performers take the stage.

“There’s going to be a variety of bands at the battle like there always are, a whole mash of different kinds of bands,” Phillips said. “There’s probably going to be a jazz band, a rock band, a pop band, maybe a DJ. It could all vary.”

Those who attend the event will get to vote for their favorite act of the night on a ballot they receive at the door. Phillips will also be participating in the event by providing entertainment during breaks between bands’ performances.

“I perform in the middle of each band that plays so that there’s music going on at all times so that bands can move stuff on and off the stage while I’m playing,” she said.

The six acts performing are Madison’s Avenue, Matthew McKay, So They Ran, The Staff Blues Band, Verbal Epiphany and Funk Biscuit.

Sean Walker, vocalist for The Staff Blues Band, has been encouraging fans to vote for his band on DENnews.com all week, but said the battle is more of a mingling ground for bands than a competition.

“I personally feel it’s pointless to really call it a battle of the bands, as we always use the night to listen for bands we would like to share a show with,” Walker said. “The battle is one of the main reasons we were lucky enough to play shows with great bands like Little Boy Jr. and Mugwump Specific. It put us in contact with them, so this is more about meeting new groups and having fun for us.”

The Staff Blues Band performed in the Battle of the Bands in fall 2008 and Walker, a senior art major from Vandalia, promises it will be an exciting performance for fans who come out.

“Our performance will be mostly original songs, but we might throw a cover or two into the set,” Walker said. “Music lovers will be promised a high-energy show which we hope to get everyone singing along with.”

The seven-piece jazz-rock band Staff Blues Band received the most votes on DENnews.com, followed closely by Madison’s Avenue.

Madison’s Avenue is a four-piece rock/alternative band that may be debuting a new member at the battle.

“We’re inducting a rhythm guitarist right now and he might not be ready for the Battle of the Bands, but if he is, he will be there,” said Madison’s Avenue singer Logan Richardson.

He said the band would be preparing for the battle by practicing some of their older songs so the audience will hear those pieces at their best.

“We’ve been practicing the same thing we normally do,” Richardson said. “We practice like we play and we try to bring the same thing from our practices to our performances.”

Madison’s Avenue will be performing from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday at Friends and Co. with Tork and Cured by Fire. There is a $5 admission.

The Staff Blues Band will be performing Friday at Top of the Roc and at the Woodchuck Music Festival at the end of the month.

Megan Tkacy can be reached at 581-7942 or metkacy@eiu.edu

Clockwise from top left: Funk Biscuit, Verbal Epiphany, The Staff Blues Band, Madison’s Avenue, So They Ran, Matthew McKay. (Photo Illustration By Caleb Branson / The Daily Eastern News)

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