A showdown of showmanship is brewing in the city. A contest of talent, vibrancy and the ability to rock that will end with only one band on top.

The Music Entertainment Industry Student Association Loyola Chapter presents the ninth annual Battle of the Bands.

The show will be held on the campus Peace Quad on Friday, Feb. 2 at 3:30 p.m. and will run until about 9 p.m.

To be deemed worthy of the battle, prospective competitors were asked to submit a unique press kit with a demo, promotional photographs, a fact sheet and a group biography. The kits were reviewed by a focus group made up of students that are unaffiliated with Loyola’s Music Business program or any of the potential bands.

The group chose seven bands based on musical talent, potential for a charismatic live show, seriousness, sincerity and overall professionalism.

President of MEISA Meredith Arnold, music business junior, said the focus groups for this year’s battle based their judgments more than ever on music, with press kits and non-music promotional materials holding less weight. “This year we listened to the demos first, before looking at the press kits,” Arnold said.

The flyers calling for bands to audition were distributed across the city and boasted broad requirements. Any local talent with proof of their skills could apply, yielding a wide variety of outfits. The chosen seven span genres from dance rock to ska.

“It’s usually a trend that whoever is on MEISA sort of determines the genre of the show. It reflects this time with a very eclectic mix. We have ska, rock, a trio that sounds like Beck, hip-hop and heavy metal. We have a really wide variety,” Arnold said.

The Battle of the Bands will feature Fay Wray, City Life, Glasgow, USAD (Urban Search and Destroy), American Egg Fight, Broken Smokes and White Colla’ Crimes.

On Friday afternoon, each band will be given a window of 20 to 30 minutes to do their thing, whatever it may be, giving all they have to impress the judges.

A panel of three judges will score each band. The to-be-announced judge line-up will be comprised of individuals chosen for their involvement in the music industry. While only one band will win first prize, it is the hopes of MEISA and those coordinating the event that musicians will take the opportunity to network with these influential industry folks.

“We’re looking for big names,” said Arnold. “We’re looking to have well-known people that really know music from either inside or outside New Orleans,” she said.

The judges will be given guidelines for scoring each band on the original standards of the initial battle screening process. Those with the best sound, most noteworthy performance, professionalism and overall style will win.

So what are the stakes of this funky face-off? The winning band will get 20 free hours in a Loyola recording studio accompanied by trained student engineers. They will hold the opening spot for Loyolapalooza, set for April.

MEISA will also send along the winning band’s demo to be considered for the national MEISA Battle of the Bands. Additionally they will be considered the headliners of next year’s Battle.

This showcase showdown has been going on since 1998. But this year, Arnold said, some progressive changes have been made.

“We’ve integrated a multimedia arts festival idea. We have two drama students emceeing the event, introducing the bands and entertaining between sets,” she said.

A “Battle of the Artist” will begin with the first band’s performance. Competing artists will be given a blank canvas and paints and allowed to paint through the course of the show, submitting their final piece for judgement at the end. Recent work of the art department will also be displayed.

There will be concessions provided by sponsors and, in the case of rain, an indoor location or alternative date will be considered. As in the past, all proceeds will be donated to the MusiCares Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping musicians in need. Locally, the organization, which was started by the GRAMMY Foundation, has written checks directly to musicians suffering in the wake of Katrina.

Jessica Dore can be reached at [email protected].