Local band Life Upon Liars. They will be competing in the XFest Battle of the Bands.
Local bands Basement (above) and Life Upon Liars (below) will be competing in the XFest Battle of the Bands.
Local band Life Upon Liars. They will be competing in the XFest Battle of the Bands.
Local bands Basement (above) and Life Upon Liars (below) will be competing in the XFest Battle of the Bands.
There’s something about playing in front of a live audience that hooks a lot of musicians.
“Playing in front of even 100 people in a room to 900 people, no matter what, turns into an adrenaline rush,” said Cody Leal, vocalist for the local metalcore band Life Upon Liars. “That’s one of the things that really drove me to be a vocalist — to be on stage and play music. Just reach out with what we’re writing, how we’re playing and try to reach people on a certain level.”
Leal grew up in Boise and helped found the band in 2014. LUL did their first tour in late 2019 and released their self-titled album just before the pandemic hit. With COVID stopping all big, live performances, Leal wavered.
“In February, a lot of people looked at Life Upon Liars as a dead band, a completely dead band, like there was nothing left,” Leal said. “So I decided to throw our name for the Battle of the Bands, ended up getting in, and it sparked a whole new drive for us.”
Life Upon Liars will compete in a Battle of the Bands starting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 29 at the Revolution Concert House & Event Center in Garden City. General admission tickets are $10 and VIP tickets are $20 on Ticketmaster.
Along with LUL, the local bands that will compete July 29 are rock/metal band We Were Giants, alt metalcore band Roses Are Dead, high energy hardcore/metal band Artificial Aliens and rapcore band Basement. The winner of the battle will be the local opener for XFest, slated for 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21 at the Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater.
“We do have a family-like atmosphere,” said Big-J, one of the organizers of XFest. “It’s not like a confrontational audience, you know what I mean? They’re there to enjoy themselves, have a good time and cheer everybody on. You hope it’s a reflection of the local music scene, which I think is in a pretty good place right now.”
The bands are looking forward to the battle.
“I think it’s a competition that needs to happen to show off the music scene,” said Jeffro Hoskins II, singer for Basement. “The bands got hand-picked, so you know they are badass bands and it’s gonna be an amazing show.”
Local rock station 100.3 The X organizes XFest and their last one was in 2018. This year, the XFest lineup includes rock bands Papa Roach and Falling in Reverse. Hollywood Undead, a rap-rock group, will also be there, along with special guest Bad Wolves, a heavy-metal band. Tickets for XFest start at $35 and available at fordidahocenter.com.
Big-J said they hold this competition to support and highlight the local scene. They received 67 applications and narrowed down the list based on experience, social media presence and existing fanbase, plus how well their music fits with the bands at XFest.
Here’s how the competition itself will work: members of the audience will receive a ticket to vote; the bands will play in a random order for around 30 minutes each; at the end, the audience will write their vote on the ticket and hand it in.
“These bands are competent and can play a show in a professional way, because this is the big leagues, if you want to call it that,” Big-J said. “Sometimes these things can be pretty pressure-filled, so maybe not the best place for your first gig or your first major gig.”
The five bands have been playing around the Treasure Valley for many years. The members of Basement met in 1996 when they all attended Centennial High School. Hoskins II said they basically started the band before they knew how to play music.
“It’s like a marriage. It’s exactly like a marriage,” Hoskins II said. “Everyone’s spouses have to be involved in it for it to go this long. It’s a delicate, delicate relationship. Communication is key.”
Like Leal, Hoskins II has seen how the pandemic has affected the local music scene.
“Everyone got inspired from COVID to tour, so there’s not a lot of venues and spots for local bands, especially for metal and stuff,” Hoskins II said. “I knew that it was gonna get oversaturated for a bit. How long that lasts — I don’t know.”
XFest Battle Of The Bands to Rock
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