Scruffy City Hall’s Band Eat Band Competition is narrowing down the competitors.

The semifinals begin Friday, May 2 with the first of four rounds of bands. One band from each round, plus a wild card band, will be selected for the finals. The bands will compete for the $3,000 prize in Market Square on June 7.

“All the semifinalists had to beat other worthy bands to get past the first round,” Bernadette West, co-owner of Scruffy City Hall and Preservation Pub, said. “Just getting invited to compete in the first round means that a band was considered a really good band with promise.”

The first round will feature the Deadbeat Scoundrels, Tree Tops, Echoes and the CrumbSnatchers. These bands took some time to talk with The Daily Beacon about their musical styles and thoughts on the competition.

Deadbeat Scoundrels

This band draws influence from bluegrass to alternative to heavy metal, drummer Brandon Sharp said.

Members of the Deadbeat Scoundrels have known each other their entire life, but Sharp said they just recently decided to officially form a band and “it just clicked.”

Since forming, they consider their first major accomplishment to be the opportunity to play at Preservation Pub.

“That was a big deal for us, coming from a small town,” Sharps said. “We’ve seen a lot of bands that we look up to play there, so that was huge.”

Going into the semifinals, the Deadbeat Scoundrels hope to have fun more than anything else.

“It’s one of those things where if you take it too seriously, you’re not going to have any fun, so we just try to play like we do at home,” Sharp said. “Our energy seems to transfer on stage really well.

“If we win, then that’s great, and if not, we had fun doing it.”

For more information about the Deadbeat Scoundrels, click here.

Tree Tops

This band falls into the category of jam rock, and guitarist and pianist Chris Burgess called it “good old rock and roll” music.

Burgess said one of the best shows the Tree Tops has played was the first round of the Band Eat Band Competition. He credits this to the band’s excitement to move further in the competition.

“We’re anxious to get up and play,” Burgess said. “We know our competition. We’ve been to our competitors’ shows, and we’re good friends with the CrumbSnatchers.

“It’s really going to be a band eat band competition. We have great competition, and we’re going to have to step up our game and deliver.”

For more information about Tree Tops, click here.

Echoes

The band members of Echoes come from different backgrounds, but drummer Gene Priest said they bring together a unique sound described as indie rock that “tends to get a little bit dancey.”

As a band, the Echoes have been together a little more than a year. Priest hopes this competition opens more doors for the band.

“I think the reason we did (Band Eat Band) wasn’t necessarily for the competition, because none of us are generally into the idea of battle of the band-type scenarios,” Priest said. “We feel like bands should be more of a community, but we also look at it as a way that not only our band, but other bands can broaden their fanbase.

“We’ll be playing with other bands with fans that wouldn’t normally come to our shows. We also get to play with other bands that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to play with.”

Priest said the Echoes’ main hope is to bring awareness to the local music scene. He added the group’s strategy is to have a good time.

“We really enjoy playing music,” Priest said, “and we hope to go and have as much fun as we can and hopefully gain some new fans and hear some great new bands that are right here in our hometown.”

For more information about the Echoes, click here.

CrumbSnatchers

The CrumbSnatchers are an indie punk rock band that initially began around 13 years ago when guitar/keyboard player and singer Samuel “Guetts” Guetterman and guitarist Philip Mosteller played together in high school.

However, it wasn’t until Guetterman and Mosteller were finished with college that they formed the CrumbSnatchers with drummer Rylan Bledsoe and bass player Sam Burchfield. Guetterman said with a laugh that the guys “made” Mosteller join.

“I love it now,” Mosteller said. “I wasn’t really prepared to get back into bands, but when I came over and started playing with them it was really good. From then on, I was happy about it.”

Guetterman said the CrumbSnatchers will play as loud and crazy as possible and give a “killer show.”

As for the Band Eat Band competition, the CrumbSnatchers agree it’s more than a competition.

“It brings fans together,” Guetterman said. “It’s a little competition, but it’s more about the music community and meeting other bands.”

For more information about the CrumbSnatchers click here.