Futaba wins Scene Magazine’s 18th Annual Battle of the Bands

Sunday, December 13th, 2009 was a day to remember in Fort Collins. Local bands played their hearts out at Scene’s 18th Annual Battle of the Bands, which kicked off at four o’clock and kept rockin’ until after midnight. All the bands played, sang, and danced their hearts out on the Hodi’s Half Note stage, and all of us here at Scene were duly impressed with the effort we saw, the talent that seems to ooze from the very pores of our small city, and the pure heart that all the bands displayed. So before I write about the winners, let me say that every band that graced the stage deserves a well-earned beer and a word of congratulations, and we hope to see them again next year!

Futuba

Futaba

The Seers

The Seers

Old-school rock n’ roll trio, The Seers, took home second place in the Battle, grabbing the audience’s attention with heavy riffs, funky basslines and expressive vocals. This group of local musicians is comprised of Brian Collins (keyboards, lead vocals), Sean Waters (guitar, backup vocals), and Tyler Lindgren on drums.

The irony behind The Seers’ name is that Brian Collins has been blind from birth. Watching the band’s performance, you would never know it, however – he sang his heart out and fluidly switched from keyboard to keyboard, changing sounds and setting the groove that his bandmates aptly followed.

Something that set The Seers apart from other bands was the feeling that every song was raw and semi-improvised. The audience could tell that they were feeding off one another more than an overly-practiced band would, and a sense of camaraderie and love for the music dominated their performance. The reason behind the rawness of their set was revealed when the audience realized that this was the first show they had ever played with drummer Tyler Lindgren (the original drummer, Ryan Gray, couldn’t make it to the show).

Sean explained: “I met Tyler Lindgren jamming at a house party a couple of weeks ago and we loved playing together so we swapped phone numbers. I called Tyler [the day of Battle of the Bands]…and he was able to show up literally 10 minutes before our set…That gave the performance a spark and a fresh newness that no amounts of practice can produce. It felt real and honest and rocking.”

Jonestown Potion

Jonestown Potion

The members of Jonestown Potion pride themselves on playing funk/jazz fusions that both captivate their audiences and make them want to dance. This quintet is comprised of Devin Morse (lead guitar), Nathaniel Marshall (keyboard), Vance Leggett (drums), Dusty Ray (bass), and Eli Cagen (saxophone).

They played a spectacularly varied show at the Battle, managing to win over audiences with their pure talent and obvious dedication to creating complex yet grooveable songs and rhythms.
Jonestown Potion recently released their debut album, and although they played a lot of songs from the album during their Battle set, they also incorporated a lot of brand new material as well. They have been gaining local fame in Fort Collins as of late for their talent and unique sound, and winning third place in this year’s Battle will hopefully propel them further on their jazz-funk journey.

Other Strong Acts

The Honey Gitters

In the Whale

The bands that played at this year’s Battle all showed wonderful musical diversity, extraordinary talents and a willingness to play their hearts out for an audience. Two of the other bands that stuck out in terms of performance and overall individuality, however, were The Honey Gitters and In The Whale.
The Honey Gitters put together a well-rehearsed yet fun and spontaneous show, delighting the audience with novel tricks (TV antennae creating ambient noise, anyone?) and musical skills. They have a bluegrass ambience, complete with banjo, thumpin’ bass and song titles like “Groundhawg,” but with a little bit of a psychedelic jam band vibe thrown into the mix, their sound is beyond compare.
In the Whale, comprised of Nate Valdez on guitar and lead vocals and Eric Riley on drums (and kazoo), played a set that reminded all the old punk-rockers in the crowd exactly where that type of music has its roots: experimentation and expression. They had excellent dynamics and a wide variety of sounds that made them the most eclectic and varied act of the evening.
This year’s Battle of the Bands was strong, impassioned, and inspiring to all the musicians and music lovers in the audience. We hope to see all of the bands that played again next year, and congratulations to our winners!

All photos are copyrighted by John Hudetz Photography

This article is copyrighted by Scene Magazine and is reproduced here with permission of the publisher.