Chris Stott - Battle of the Bands recap

Local music was alive and well when earlier this month when the Hayward Battle of the Bands once again took over the Chabot Theater. The battle, sponsored by the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.), is the longest continuously running battle of the bands in the country, at 46 years. Bands ranged in style from the pop-punk that you’d expect from bands whose members are in high school, to the reggae-rock stylings of Braata, to an odd combination of metal, funk-rock, and blues courtesy of Solcraft.

Two bands were particularly memorable, and are still worth mentioning now, two weeks after the battle took place. One was The Dialed, four teenage boys from San Lorenzo, who play pop-punk in the vein of Blink 182. Showing off both their musical and performance skills, they had plenty of fun without overdoing their onstage antics, a problem which set back many other bands’ performances. This earned them the loud cheers of the audience, as well as the attention of the judges, who awarded The Dialed with the first place prize.

The other noteworthy band was Prove It, who were undoubtedly audience favorites before the curtain even rose and they began to play. The cheering began when master of ceremonies Mick Flaire announced that all three members of the band were 10 years old, and became loud “aww”s when the curtain rose on the boys whose instruments were almost as big as they were. The band, which received 13th place in the preliminary round, wasn’t even going to play until one of the other bands dropped out due to illness. Even though this meant they wouldn’t be able to compete for a place, brothers Ian and Graham, and drummer Jack did their very best, playing two original songs and a Beatles cover, and earned themselves an Honorable Mention “Flairey” Award.