The odds were not in The Side Projects’ favor. Going into Battle of the Bands, they had only been together for a month and they were up against popular, experienced bands like Grand Revival and Scott’s Run.
But, in an upset that the Side Projects themselves described as “shocking,” the underdogs beat the odds and won.
The Side Projects’ band first began as an actual side project. “Kate Fraser and I had a friend who wanted us to be a band, but he only gave us ten minutes’ notice about practice,” said sophomore band member Ben Kenna.
“Eventually we told him we were working on a ‘side project’ so we wouldn’t have to go to his practice. And when the side project actually became a real band, that’s what we decided to call it.”
The band now includes sophomores Ben Kenna (bass) and Collin Hanley (trombone), juniors Allie Sherlock (guitar), Kate Fraser (vocals), Michael Guo (saxophone), and Spencer Jessee (drums), and senior Tariq Khan (trumpet.)
They describe their style as ‘ska.’
”It’s part reggae, part punk, with a little bit of horns and sax,” said Kenna.
The Side Projects rehearse every weekend in Jessee’s basement and decide which songs they want to cover. “I probably have to give a shoutout to my parents, who endured weeks of us playing the same songs really, really badly,” said Jessee. “The walls are very thin.”
For Battle of the Bands, their first actual performance, they chose three songs: the Real Big Fish version of “Kiss Me Deadly” by Lita Ford, “Signs of Selling Short” by Less Than Jake and their favorite, “Keasbey Nights” by Streetlight Manifesto.
At first, the performance was anything but smooth. “We kinda came out in shambles,” laughed Kenna. Before taking the stage, the screws came off his bass, leaving him to get them fixed.
Then during the show, Jessee accidentally threw one of his drum sticks into the audience. But afterwards, the performance improved. “It worked out great,” said Kenna. Since the audience got to vote on the winner, the Side Projects’ large group of friends in attendance helped them rise to the top.
“It was crazy seeing all our friends going nuts for us,” said Fraser. The band won a $150 cash prize, which they plan to spend on a new PA system. They are hoping to begin writing their own songs and play summer gigs soon.