Former, current UCLA musicians to battle it out

To raise awareness for disabilities, Battle of the Bands uses music to spread the word.

Pi Kappa Phi and the Community Service Commission are hosting the fourth annual Battle of the Bands tonight at 7:30 in Ackerman Grand Ballroom to benefit Push America, which raises money for people with disabilities.

“Music is a therapeutic agent,” said Kareem Hammad, president of Pi Kappa Phi. “I think that with disabilities especially, if you are ever down or in the hospital, music is something that can bring misery out of us.”

Tickets are $10 pre-sale and $12 at the door. The event, though designed for charity, also hopes to appeal to students.

“We just want to put on a really great event for UCLA students,” said Dean Otsuka, director of Battle of the Bands 2008. “It’s during second week before midterms, which allows more students to go and have fun. … It’s not something where a fraternity is just advertising it to sororities; it’s for the UCLA and Los Angeles communities.”

This year, the event is focusing more on the UCLA community, with most of their acts being current groups at UCLA or UCLA alumni, such as headliner Tyrone Wells.

“We knew that the UCLA community would be really receptive of Tyrone Wells,” Otsuka said. “It’s a great thing to have UCLA alumni come back and perform at their school and to see their old school embrace them.”

The event features ACA Hip-Hop and Bruin Harmony, along with a plethora of other current UCLA groups on campus. Competitors in the event include former Bruins Lady Danville, formerly known as Mikey G and Dan from Danville, and current Bruins Kazai Rex.

“Dan Chang, one of the lead singers in Lady Danville, is a former Pi Kapp,” Hammad said. “Lady Danville have performed at the event the last two years. This is the first year that they are competing and have a much bigger set, and their following has grown a lot. They play with Tyrone Wells, so they helped us with him.”

Chang, who helped organize the event while he was a Bruin, is excited to get to compete in the event.

“When I was at school, I was involved in helping putting it together, and I just happened to be in a band that could fill some time,” Chang said. “We actually wanted to be in exhibition again this year, but I guess they changed it on us. We went into this thing thinking we had 10 minutes to play, but now we have 30 minutes.”

However, it is not winning the competition that motivates Chang to compete.

“I want to raise awareness for Push America, which raises money for children with disabilities, and for Pi Kappa Phi,” Chang said. “There are so many great activities like Dance Marathon and charitable events. I’m hoping that this event will increase the funds that it raises and inspire others to organize charitable events.”

In the past, the event has raised from $6,000 to $15,000 for Push America. With the UCLA focus this year, Pi Kappa Phi and the Community Service Commission hope to raise more.

“Philanthropy is something I feel really strongly about,” Otsuka said. “We are at a great university here at UCLA; it’s just not a privilege that not everybody has. I think that, as students at UCLA, it is important that we give back to the community and serve people with disabilities.”

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