On Wednesday evening, two bands, The Vanilla Colts, and Blokhouse secured their places in the Aandklas Battle of the Bands final competition. The Vanilla Colts, Blokhouse, and The Voodoo Cats each got a chance to fight it out on stage during the first phase of the semi-final, yet only two bands were given the opportunity to proceed to the final round.
The Vanilla Colts performed first at the Aandklas Battle of the Bands. PHOTO: Liezl Human
Aandklas Battle of the Bands is held every year. Three judges assessed the bands’ performances based on a variety of categories. The prize for the winner of the competition is a recording contract in the region of R15,000 in value.
According to one of the judges and programme manager at MFM, Arnold Van Der Walt, “All of our judges here have different musical backgrounds and it’s a hard job to remain objective.”
“This year’s prize is way bigger than the other years, but we didn’t announce it on social media because we didn’t want to have bands just competing for the prize. We wanted bands to compete for the battle,” says Van Der Walt.
Blokhouse on stage and rocking it out during the last performance. PHOTO: Liezl Human
The judges base the criteria for measuring the bands’ performances on a variety of factors. They look at things like the band’s technicality, how they look on stage, their sound, and their timing.
“Crowd-interaction is a big part of this competition. It’s not only how the crowd interacts with you, but how you interact with the crowd,” says Van Der Walt. “And then we’re also looking at originality. Is it new? Is it fresh? Are you having fun? Have we heard this before?”
Each band also receives constructive feedback notes from the judges.
The Voodoo Cats delivering a rocking performance. PHOTO: Liezl Human
Phillip Jordaan, the lead singer of The Vanilla Colts (who goes by the stage name Phil J), says “I think we got some good momentum now, getting through the semi-finals.”
“Getting through to finals is a real show of character. I mean, even just getting to this point is insane, so we’re really happy,” Jordaan says.
Jordaan also mentions that The Vanilla Colts are good at incorporating crowd-engagement during their performances. “You just have to hear one of our songs once and then you can sing along to it,” he says.
The second round of the semi-final will take place on 8 May. The next three bands to fight it out for a place in the final will be AFLOS, Marene, and Venus & The Snake.