Fourth Annual Battle of the Bands Loud and Fun

presented the 2011 Battle of the Bands Friday, May 13. The evening was made possible by the hard work of senior Kyle Daniel, who last year helped out with the battle and this year was the man in charge.

In this year's Fourth Annual Battle of the Bands, four musical groups competed for "best band" bragging rights and all proceeds went to the Saucon Valley Music Connection, a local nonprofit group that helps fund programs and educational opportunities for young musicians in the Saucon Valley School District.

The first group to appear on stage was Kim’s Comeback, with Natalie Prager as manager, Tyler Fernandez as lead singer, Owen Roff on bass, Joe Grant on lead guitar and Nick Pascarosa on drums. The students in the group are all sophomores at Notre Dame High School, and the band came together in 2010, deriving its name from their friend Kim Gillow, who passed away in 2009. Kim’s Comeback plays at school events, Brenda and Jerry’s, and at a 5K run held in Kim's memory. This summer they can be heard at Planet Trog, a Whitehall Township entertainment venue popular with many local young people.

Their set included original works by the group, including “I Scream, I Shout,” a song that they dedicated to Kim.

Second on stage was Staff Infection, a band with members whose names and faces may have looked surprisingly familiar to high school students in the audience. In fact, all the members of Staff Infection are on staff at the high school. They include Lisa Allen, Mike Hanssen, Mario Marcozzi, Jeremy Kittek, Glenn Carolan and Brian Damiano.

This talented group of teachers formed the band in 2009, and this was their third year participating in Battle of the Bands. Staff Infection can be heard at school events and this year will also perform at . The teachers enjoy showcasing their talents outside of the classroom, and primarily play to entertain the students.

Staff Infection performed popular songs such as "Soul Man," "Jessie's Girl" and "Jenny" during their set. The audience showed its appreciation for the group during "Twist and Shout," with some attendees heading to the front of the auditorium to dance to the music.

The third group to perform, Adrenaline Storm, is comprised of Saucon Valley High School band and chorus students, including Hunter Isbell, Jeff King, Kyle Marshall, Greg Gold, Tim Gold and Erik Gross.

The group likes to perform in front of live audiences and hopes to get its name and music out to the public. For the battle they played their own original music including "Welcome to Utopia." Adrenaline Storm was the winner of Battle of the Bands in 2010, which was also the first year they participated in the competition. Their continued popularity was evident when the crowd moved to the front of the auditorium to dance and cheer to their music.

The evening concluded with a set by Foreigners, a group comprised of foreign exchange students attending Saucon Valley and some of their friends. The group includes Slobodan “Bobby” Ristic, from Serbia; Jesus Rodrigues, from Venezuela; Ian Smith, originally from Texas; Garret Powell, from Baltimore; and hometown girl and Hellertown native Katie Hofert. The group of friends put their band together less than two weeks prior to the Battle as a favor to Kyle Daniel. Their performance in Battle of the Bands 2011 was their first public performance, and their set included the popular song "Forget You," a medley of popular tunes created by Ian and a Serbian rap performed by Bobby.

Throughout the evening contribution boxes were passed around the auditorium for fans to “vote” for their favorite band by making a donation. The group with the most money at the end of the evening would be named the winner.

Thus in the end, the biggest winner of the night was the Saucon Valley Music Connection, which will be able to continue to fund school music programs thanks to everyone who came out and supported their favorite bands.

But who actually won the 2011 Battle of the Bands?

In fourth place was Foreigners, in third place was Kim’s Comeback, in second place was Staff Infection, and for the second year in a row Adrenaline Storm captured the hearts of the audience, winning the 2011 Saucon Valley Battle of the Bands title.