By Kyle Khatchadourian
Staff Writer
Southern California’s South Bay has long served as a musical hub, pumping out hordes of overwhelmingly talented bands including Black Flag, Circle Jerks and Suicidal Tendencies.
This past weekend, the 39th annual Manhattan Beach Hometown Fair Battle of the Bands was no exception from the musical talent present in the Manhattan Beach community.
With a $500 prize on the line, Costa student, alumni and other local bands gathered in hopes of serenading the judges and rightfully receiving the hefty prize.
“I believe the battle is a great opportunity for talented Costa students looking to get their name out in the community,” junior Jackson Webster said.
The Battle of the Bands competition is an intrinsic part of the Hometown Fair culture. In the past, the competition has proven to be an essential starting point for many local bands’ eventual musical careers, including those of Costa alumni Allura, Three’s Company and Goodfellas.
“I find it really interesting that many Costa bands started out playing small gigs like Battle of the Bands and were later able to become well known,” senior Michael Cassen said.
Although talent for the Battle of the Bands comes from all over the South Bay, two current Costa bands shined throughout the event. Singer/Songwriter Brandon Hafetz and the dub/cover band 310 both took to the stage to perform their set.
“My band has not been together that long, and it’s great to be able to play with bands that have been together for so long,” senior Christian Rogers said.
Mira Costa alumni band Temporal Love won first place for their performance and closed the battle of the bands competition with an encore performance. The judges made their final decision based on Temporal Love’s “unique abilities” with the guitar and vocals. As Temporal Love left the stage, the fair asked Mira Costa alumni and last year’s winners of the competition, Goodfellas, to come back and play a show for the crowd to keep the musical vibe going.
“I could not believe how good some of the bands were this year,” senior Nick Fender said. “It was a really close competition.”
It was not until Temporal Love took to the stage that the audience was treated to their old-school classic rock sound, inspired by ‘60s and ‘70s musical artists like Jimmy Hendrix. Brandon Hafetz also joined Temporal Love on stage after a few songs. If the fair’s stage manager had not told the group to end its set, Temporal Love would have had no problem playing until the fair closed.
“I’ve played shows with Temporal Love before, and it was definitely a thrill to get to play with them another time,” Hafetz said.
Brandon Hafetz played a morning set, during which he had no problem quickly drawing the attention of several fair-goers.
Hafetz’s jam-packed show included three authentic numbers, including a new version of his original song, “Angel Eyes.” Hafetz did nothing short of pouring his heart out on stage as he performed solo. The atmosphere changed with his different and alternative style of music.
“I won the Battle of the Bands last year, and it was great to be able to play again, to close the show,” Goodfellas Connor Morey said. “I encourage all young bands to paticipate.”
Soon after Hafetz’s set, “Crime Scene,” a band of 12-year-olds, performed their own style of classic rock hits including “Dream On” by Aerosmith and “Heartbreaker” by Heart. Crime Scene ended the competition in second place and was awarded $250.
Mira Costa band 310 found Crime Scene’s set hard to follow as they powered through some similar classic rock and modern day covers. 310 played their part while on stage but could not muster up enough praise as the battle continued and more bands took the stage.
“I have played in the Battle of the Bands before, but I did not have the opportunity to get first place, until now. It’s a new year and my band and I knew what we had to do to win,” Temporal Love member Tyler Bozeman said.
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