Battle lines were drawn on Saturday as the annual UC Davis Picnic Day Battle of the Bands contest went into full swing.
The tradition has been in place since the early 1970s, with The California Aggie Marching Band-uh! claiming victory or a peaceful draw every time.
This year the battle raged from 2 to 10 p.m. at Lake Spafford, with rival schools including Humboldt State, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley and Stanford University playing a myriad of tunes against the Band-uh! in an attempt to out play them.
“It is fun to see different bands playing,” said Lizabeth Diaz, a first-year member of Band-uh!. “You appreciate everything because it is a really cool performance.“
Schools play around 10 songs each, with some songs lasting 45 minutes alone. Near the end, bands finish off with their respective fight songs. Afterwards the Aggies go off to enjoy their Battle of the Bands party.
Not all years have left the bands finishing on time at 10 p.m.; in the past the battle sometimes continued beyond the deadline when bands stubbornly fight on for the victory.
“We practice a lot for three weeks straight for Picnic Day, and that practice pays off,” Diaz said.
– Text by CORY BULLIS
