Marcellus group wins battle of the bands
Nine bands rocked the Sam Pomeranz Jewish Community Center for four-and-a-half hours Saturday night, January 14. This 15th annual high school Battle of the Bands concert drew a crowd of over 300 to the JCC Neulander Family Sports & Fitness Center’s Schayes Family Gymnasium where the many up-and-coming musicians played a wide range of musical styles. The fans grooved and ate it all up. In the end, returning classic rock band Posted from Marcellus Sr. High School rose to the top and was crowned this year’s winner.
Along with bragging rights, Posted received a $200 cash prize, eight hours of studio time at More Sound Recording Studio in Syracuse, an interview segment on 95X radio’s Locals Only show, an opening act slot for an upcoming show at The Lost Horizon, the headline slot at this summer’s TeenFest event and the opportunity to play in a special JCC 2017 Spring Showcase concert.
“This has truly been a milestone Battle of the Bands concert,” said Mick Hagan, JCC’s director of children and teen services. “For 15 years we’ve been bringing local high school musicians together to showcase their talents and make them rock stars for an evening. It’s so awesome that we’ve been able to grow this thing into Central New York’s biggest battle of the bands competition exclusively for high school musicians. I’m so impressed by the bands that played this year and how successful our Battle of the Bands event has become.”
The hard rocking Posted is no stranger to the Battle of the Bands. They were tied for third in last year’s show. This year the five-member group came out swinging with a boat load of confidence and enthusiasm. It was like they had something to prove. And they did indeed prove that they were up to the task. Playing a high-energy set that included both originals and some cover songs, Posted delighted their large and vocal fan contingent. In fact, they brought out more fans than any other band.
“We’d like to thank the JCC for putting on this awesome event,” said Posted’s lead singer Nate Murphy. “It’s so great how they pull all of this together and give high school bands a chance to play out. It was so incredible to be here with so many good bands.”
The other members of Posted are Dan Wrona, lead guitar; Josh Winoski, percussion; Riley Burns, bass guitar; and Sam Hayduke, percussion. They’ve been playing together for about four years. They describe their musical style as classic rock influenced by jazz, fusion, progressive rock and funk. Some of the bands that have influenced them include Rush, Phish, Steeley Dan and Led Zeppelin.
“We think that this is such a cool event and we were so glad to be a part of it twice,” said Posted guitarist Dan Wrona. “A great event to get people out to see and support local live music, and for us to meet more people like ourselves.”
The other bands that battled it out with Posted this year were White Moorman from Fayetteville-Manlius High School; XLATERALS from East Syracuse Minoa Central High School; Summer School Valedictorian from Liverpool High School; Band2oh9 from Marcellus; Vivid Recall from Christian Brothers Academy, Liverpool and Baker High School (Baldwinsville); Decent from Lafayette Junior-Senior High School; Final Velocity from Baldwinsville; and The Mutants from F-M, Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Baldwinsville. Coming in second place was Vivid Recall and third was XLATERALS.
Judges for the 2017 Battle of the Bands were Scott Dixon (dXn), 95X radio personality; Bob Staffa (B.O.B), 95X radio personality; and Garrit Peck and Max Marcy from last year’s winning band The Cuddlefish.
This year’s Battle of the Bands was sponsored by More Sound Recording Studio, 95X, Pepsi and Contact Community Services. For every high school student admission, the JCC donated $1 to his or her school district’s music department.
