By Tony Clark (March 18, 2003)

The first-ever "Battle of the Bands," sponsored by the junior class, brought out nearly 200 fans Friday night. The intense jam session brought in $570 for the prom and featured five Mason bands: The Blazing Pandas, Dark Horse, Greenwich St., The Knobby Painters isd, and Southern Comfort. 
 

The way the battle worked was that in the first round each band played one song. Then bands were eliminated using crowd response measured by a Clap-O-Meter, provided by Dr. Heupel.. The end result was Dark Horse winning in the third and final round. Dark Horse consists of Brandon Bailey (guitar and vocals), Martti Paljarvi (drums) and Jimbo Thomas (guitar). They won a $30 gift certificate to Guitar Center as well as six $10 certificates to Foxes Music. The second place finisher, Blazing Pandas, earned a gift certificate to The Music and Arts Center in Bailey’s Crossroads.

Drummer Martti Paljarvi laid down the beat Friday  night for his band Dark Horse that won the first Battle of the Bands sponsored by the junior class.  (Photo by David Applegate)

The first round surprised some when Southern Comfort did not make the next round. "We just didn’t have it tonight. We didn’t practice enough, but hey, what can you do?" said guitarist Chris Campanelli. Fellow band member John Ruffino said, "Hey we do what we do. If it doesn’t turn out well we gots to keep on truckin."  There was also a surprise moment when Dark Horse asked Ruffino, a former member of Dark Horse, to come and play "Mourning Palace" with them.

Guitarist John Ruffino of Southern Comfort was asked to join his old band, Dark Horse, to play “Mourning  Palace” during Friday night’s Battle of the Bands.  (Photo by David Applegate)

The second round consisted of Dark Horse, Blazing Pandas and Greenwich St. The Blazing Pandas came out with energy while Greenwich St., consisting of Grant Sabatier and Graeton Tripp stuck with a more mellow vibe. The two bands battled away until the cuts to make it to the third round were made. The finalists were Dark Horse and The Blazing Pandas. "We gave it all we could. I enjoyed playing even though we didn’t win. Anyway, next year brings another battle, and we will be ready for it," said Jacob Potapchek, guitar player for the Blazing Pandas.