This Saturday, the halls of the Contemporary Jewish Museum were filled with young musicians vying for the 500 dollar grand prize at the JCCSF’s third annual Battle of the Bands. The musical stylings of the various groups varied wildly. One band had only two instruments—a harmonica and a first generation Nintendo Game Boy. Another featured a full brass ensemble. Most were of the standard guitar, bass, drum variety.
In between the rounds, the audience was treated to presentations of NFJP films—Lalo’s Jerusalem and good old Not Another Jewish Movie. The beat change was a welcome chance for the audience and bands to catch a breath, and for me to get up on stage and ham it up for the program.
Tensions ran high. A semi-playful fight broke out between the heavy metal shredders of the band The Lady Bugs, who had only been together for about a week. The guitarist from another band was chastisted for eating pizza in a food restricted area. Security forced me to fold up my tripod as a safety precaution. Apparently, if a documentary filmmaker gets stable footage, the terrorists have already won.
The last few moments of the night, as the final votes were being tallied, were especially nailbiting. The judges had narrowed down the contestants to just two groups, teen rockers Milo Grey (named for one of the band members great grandfathers who fought in World War One) and salsa ensemble Futuro Picante. The tally was at an unbelievable neck and neck tie, until a last voter dropped her ticket into Futuro Picante’s basket. The announcement of the winner was a joyous event, and there seemed to be no hard feelings.
My personal favorite band was a group called Primed to Explode, who played songs from when I was their age in the 90’s—songs that I suppose would now be considered classic rock. I asked them if they had a record or a demo or some recording I could use in our documentary of the event. “Dude, I wish,” was the response of their young female percussionist. I hope they stay together until next year’s BOTB, at which point I’ll be happy to shell out 15 bucks for their EP. Good luck to all the young bands who put themselves out on the line to be judged and juried at the CJM this Saturday. Rock on San Francisco!
