SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii - Patrons at the Kolekole Bar and Grill were treated to live performances during the Better Opportunities for Single Soldiers' "Battle of the Bands," here, May 6 and 14, to determine the band that will perform for the Tropics Recreational Center reopening and the Fourth of July Spectacular.
The competition comes under the BOSS' Festival of the Arts entry. Preliminary judges included Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Williamson, U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii command sergeant major; Dana Spalding, BOSS advisor; and Michael Thorton, who has 16 years' experience in the music industry. The finals were critiqued by Festival of the Arts official judges.
"I'm looking forward to the noise," said Williamson, before the event. "It's nice to have live entertainment and Soldiers coming together."
The 20-minute sets were judged on a 20-point scale for musical arrangement: 20 points for stage performance and presence and 10 points for vocal arrangement.
Soldiers and families ate and drank amongst the milling band members toting drums, guitars and amps, and they had the opportunity to win prizes in BOSS raffles and contests for items like the most push-ups, out-of-state licenses or post exchange receipts.
Delayed Resistance, a band of 13 military children from the Teen Zone, here, rotated singers, guitarists and drummers through their contest-winning set that rocked the packed-house audience.
Derrick Beck, McKenzie Branch, Sydney Branch, Justin Chung, Brianna Gilbert, Brett Halvorson, Dominic Jones, Jasmine Kuhn, Traycie Kuhn, Robert Moses, Jace Nakahara, Sarah Venable and Colton Wickam were the crowd favorites, and they rocked their entourage with high-impact energy.
"The kid's band really brought the energy and the crowd, and I would love to play with them onstage," said Todd Anthony, a former Army Ranger and the bass guitarist in Kilroy, a local band that played "original music with a side order of covers" during their set.
"This is a really good program and outlet for the teens to express themselves, as normally they wouldn't be allowed in a Battle of the Bands competition," said Jennifer Wagner, whose son, Colton, plays in Delayed Resistance. "He is always practicing guitar at the Teen Center, so I know where he is and who he is with."
"It's great that kids competed with older people; they rocked," said Sgt. Andrea Huff, 45th Special Troops Battalion, 8th Theater Sustainment Command. "They did such a great job; I have hope in the future of music."
All the bands performing impressed the crowd.
"This is a night to remember," said Sgt. Jay Vinas, 2nd Bn., 27th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. "It's epic, and the talent knocked my socks off."
"I've enjoyed what I heard so far this evening," said Pvt. Joshua Southerland, 130th Engineer Bde., 8th TSC.
Renee Imose of Aiea, couldn't pick a favorites, saying soloist Spc. Calvin Yang was good and she really liked his voice, but she also thought the "School of Rock" teen band had a lot of energy.
Yang from 2nd Bn., 27th Inf. Regt., held the solo spotlight with his acoustic guitar set of poignant original songs, including "Sounds of Oahu," written after redeployment, including crooning lyrics of "the island will live on, long after we're gone. Sometimes hellos count as goodbyes."
Yang wrote his second song "for the souls that have been lost, for the Soldiers that didn't come back, all of us didn't come back."
"We are here rocking at Schofield, in a free country, because of you. Thank you for all you do," said Flux Capacitor's lead singer dedicated the performance to Soldiers.
Meridian, a metal band that formed a few months ago and plays all original music, is comprised of Company B, 2nd Bn., 27th Inf. Regt. Soldiers, including Spc. Richard Hurst on lead vocals, Sgt. Darren Smith on vocals, Pvt. Greg Freeman on lead guitar, Spc. Jeremy Negron on rhythm guitar, Spc. Mike Brown on bass guitar and Spc. Eric Reineir on drums.
"All our music was all improv and we rocked it," said Smith who performed with three broken toes.
"We all love music, so after Iraq we got together to start a band and play our own music," said Hurst. "This gives people a chance to listen to what we think and what metal is supposed to be."
"They were intense," agreed Sgt. Julia Spottedbear, 45th STB, of Meridian.
The competition seemed to please all attendees, whether they were in the band or as a spectator.
"It's great to play with a diverse selection of musicians." Anthony said.
"I hope they have more events like this competition in the future. I will be tired in the morning, but it's well worth it," said Huff.
Additional photos are available on <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/usag-hi/sets/72157623965734525/">Flickr</a>.
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