T.O. Teen Center’s Battle of the Bands displays local talent
Live music is a performance that spans cultures and generations, and it is a necessary aspect of any community. Hosted by the Thousand Oaks Teen Center, the Battle of the Bands competition attracted local high school bands to battle it out for a 500-dollar prize. The bands of this year’s battle included StandBy, WaveAsYouGoBy, SOAPP and Wasted Effort.
The Battle of the Bands hopes to provide a community space to foster local artists and give exposure to up-and-coming bands. Not only does it help local bands, but it also allows the public to see what young people can achieve, with audiences ranging from middle schoolers to adults.
The grand prize this year was awarded to StandBy, a 7-year-old band made up of seniors and graduates Eddie Dolak [Grace Simi HS], Tre Poutre [Santa Susana HS], Micheal Turton [Simi HS alumni] and Jaxon Armerding [Hillcrest alumni]. Playing in events such as the Battle of Bands gives an opportunity for exposure for popular bands like StandBy. “These places have helped us grow, get exposure and play to bigger crowds. That’s given us the belief that we can make it in music,” Dolak said.
The Battle of the Bands allows space not only for seasoned bands such as StandBy to grow, but also provides a source of inspiration for new incoming artists such as the freshly made band WaveAsYouGoBy, made up of Westlake High School juniors Will Robinson, Adam Niemann and Matteo Chiappetta. The gathering of young artists and young music enjoyers creates a supportive environment for bands of any degree of experience. “In the small local young band scene here in Southern California, I truly feel like I’m at home surrounded by like minds who are all eager to support each other,” Robinson said.
Battle of the Bands occurs every year during the beginning of December and it creates benefits in disguise for the bands participating. They were able to have exposure to a larger audience and judges who gave authentic feedback. “Watching so many people in one area show up to support live music and mosh is incredible to see,” Robinson said.
Combined with the liveliness that the audience brought to the event, the support from the other bands created a tight knit circle of young people. For this reason, the members of the bands feel like they are held up by each other and push each other to be the best they can. “The community between bands has definitely lifted me up as a musician, confidence-wise and ability-wise,” Chiappetta said.
