Battle of Bands takes center stage in SUB ballrooms

The Strand Union Building (SUB) ballrooms often host formal events such as fundraisers and award ceremonies. Last Saturday, however, the venue dimmed the overheads and brought in smoke machines and colorful spotlights to illuminate community groovers. 

Bozeman bands Fritz Road, Still Fools, One More Beer and Veridis rocked a pop-up stage at the Associated Students of MSU (ASMSU)’s annual Battle of the Bands. 

In case you missed it, here's a rundown of the event.

According to ASMSU Events Team Assistant Director Nomi Friedman, set up for the show started the night before, after a formal dinner in the ballrooms. 

She said that the team was there until around three in the morning. “And the next morning, the production staff came back at 10 a.m. and did sound check all day, so good job to them,” Friedman said. 

The three-hour show began with Fritz Road, who came out hot.

Fritz Road is composed of four members: drummer Aiden Heffernan, bassist John Menanno, guitarist Jamie Wilson and Seth Norby, who recently became the band’s singer after Menanno joined the group a few months ago.

“I think we’ve got some motion,” Menanno said. 

On stage, Norby brought a dynamic energy: jumping around, flipping his hair and doing the worm. Each member had a chance to shred their instruments, including Norby, who brought out a clarinet for a song. 

The band played a number of songs, including original tracks Dead End Job and Cold Shoulder.  

After Fritz Road left the stage, members of One More Beer performed their third-ever live show together. 

“I lowkey almost dropped my pick, my fingers were so sweaty,” said guitarist Jacob Szukala.

Despite some nerves, the group played smoothly from one song to the next. According to the band members, their vibe is very collaborative, with several members playing multiple roles. 

“I'm a jack-of-all-trades kind of deal,” said Tom Horan, who played bass, guitar and sang during the 30-minute set. The group's bassist, Ava Ahlemeyer, also sang.

One More Beer started with Szukala and Horan, and Szukala said he found their drummer, Camden DeBruin, in a shared class and met Ahlemeyer on the streets of Bozeman.

“For a year straight she was just in my phone as ‘Bass Girl,’” he said.

The group played covers of many popular metal and grunge artists such as Nirvana and Linkin Park.

The penultimate set came from Still Fools, who rocked the crowd with a groovy blues sound. 

“We're definitely very heavily influenced by the Grateful Dead,” lead guitarist Nick Goodman said. “We take a lot of inspiration from their freeness.”

Still Fools was the largest band to play the night. According to Goodman, the group started with him, harmonicist Cannon Herring, bassist Devin McCausland and Charlie Frantz as lead singer and rhythm guitar. The four found their drummer, Griffon McCoy, on Facebook Marketplace and — most recently — obtained their keyboardist Jonas Overton.

Herring and Goodman said that their band has a very laid-back vibe. 

“Nothing’s really set to a script other than the actual base of the songs,” Goodman said. “But when it comes to the solos, it's all improvisation and we all just like to have fun.”

According to Herring, a couple of members even pushed back against making a set list for Battle of the Bands. “Most of our shows, it's just like, ‘Alright, what do we want to play next’ — no plan going into it,” he said. 

The band played seven songs, most of which were originals. 

“I really liked Still Fools,” Friedman said. “I thought their set was really good and the music they played was awesome.”

As the night progressed, the crowd shifted and the energy climbed. By the time the closing band Veridis came on, a full-on mosh had formed in front of the stage.

“[The mosh] was sick,” said Veridis drummer Zach Bowcott. “I looked up and there was a huge pit. I was like ‘Oh my God.’”

Veridis is a five-member metal band. Started in 2023 with Bowcott, vocalist Gage Guerin, and bassist Tyler Schwalm, they recently replaced their former guitarist with two new members, Ellis Shortridge and Will Chabalowski. “We thought they were both really good, so we added them both,” Bowcott said.

According to him, this was Veridis’ first time playing in Battle of the Bands. They played a set of entirely original tracks.

“Usually if we're trying to fill out [a longer show] we perform a bunch of covers,” Bowcott said. “But since it was Battle of the Bands we wanted to do all originals.” 

At the end of the night, attendees voted and  Still Fools took home the win — along with a $500 check.

All four bands can be found occasionally playing the stage at the Haufbrau House or other local music venues.

For more information about ASMSU events, visit its Instagram @asmsu.bobcats.