Saddleback hosts Battle of the Bands event in McKinney Theatre

The commercial music arts program hosts the second annual battle of the bands event.

Saddleback Battle of the Bands is happening tomorrow in the Mckinney Theatre, featuring eight bands made up of Saddleback students and alumni. The event starts at 7:30 p.m., but make sure to get there early for the taco truck at 6:00 p.m. and a DJ at 6:30 p.m.

The eight bands performing are: Pseudovision, Neil Levin Band, Chemical Reset, Crimson Moon, Stereosity, Glass Kiss, Carmela and Faith Floyd, with a pre-show DJ set from Garnika. Many of the Saddleback music students from the last 10 years have gone on to create bands and make music.

Music department chair and director of the commercial music program Dr. Ariel Alexander is overseeing the event. She created the event to celebrate these bands all in one place and allow alumni to inspire current students.

“I’m so excited to see Saddleback current students and alumni make incredible music and celebrate each other,” Alexander said. “It’s a super positive and joyful atmosphere.”

Here are some of the bands that will be participating.

Pseudovision

Pseudovision members Brandon Wagner, Raquel Wagner, Gerardo Brito, Ryan Tarbutton, Colin James West and Jack Whitney in a behind-the-scenes shot from their “Like a Lover Would” photo shoot. | Juliette Huy

Ryan Tarbutton and Brandon Wagner shared that the band owes a lot to the commercial music program. They formed by default for a Saddleback music event, and all members just “clicked.”

Both Tarbutton and Wagner are current students at Cal Poly Pomona, but they speak for all members of the band when they say that Saddleback is their forever home.

“It definitely changed all of our lives in a very, very positive way,” Tarbutton said about the commercial music program. “We learned a lot as musicians and as people working in the industry and just interpersonally as friends in this band together.”

Pseudovision will be joining Stereosity on their tour next month. The band just put out a single this January, “Like a Lover Would”, and it is available anywhere music can be listened to.

It’s the first tour for Pseudovision as a band, but both Tarbutton and Wagner have toured with Stereosity in the past. The closeness of the bands, according to the members, creates a fun environment at the Battle of the Bands.

“It’s just fun because both last year and this year, most of the bands are our friends,” Tarbutton said about the 2024 Battle of the Bands.

“It’s just a fun party of familiar faces,” Wagner added.

Pseudovision has been a formal band since 2023, and right now, it’s “all eyes on the project,” Wagner said about their upcoming tour.

Neil Levin Band

Members Moshe Wohl, Neil Levin and Jayden Carbajal from the “Neil Levin Trio.” | Amanda Nigro

Neil Levin was a part of Saddleback’s Commercial Music Program from 2018 to 2020 and went on to graduate from Berklee College of Music with his bachelor’s. Levin says he owes a lot to the Saddleback program as it teaches a valuable skill.

“I owe a lot to that program, to Dr. Ariel and Adam Hawley and the whole curriculum there,” he said. “It teaches you how to be in a band with other people.”

Levin played a critical role in creating the Battle of the Bands. His bass player at the time wanted Saddleback to create something to showcase bands that had come out of the program.

Levin brought the idea to music instructor Dr. Ariel Alexander and dean of AMPD Scott Farthing, who eventually solidified the idea into a battle of the bands. This will be the second year the event has occurred.

Levin has music out on Apple Music and Spotify, and can be heard live at The Station in San Juan Capistrano every Tuesday night. .

Stereosity

Stereosity members Jack Carone, Sam Krones and Luke and Hunter Leibee from a promotional photoshoot. | Jared Stewart

The members of a twinkle-rock band Stereosity met in middle school, forming a bond over music. They started writing their own songs in 2020, playing shows in 2021, and gaining a strong fanbase in 2023.

Stereosity plans to release their first full album later this year and are going on their first tour up the West Coast throughout the month of March. They will be joined by another Saddleback-born band, Pseudovision.

“It’s our longest run yet, and we’re going all the way up into Canada, which is really cool,” lead singer and guitarist Sam Krones said about the tour. “I also want us to tour because it’s great for exposure and everything.”

Bassist and drummer, Luke and Hunter Leibee won’t be joining the rest of the band for this tour, which includes Sam and guitarist Jack Carone. Their goal is to keep the album untouched during the tour until the whole band can play together.

Their performance at Battle of the Bands will be their last before the tour, so make sure to visit to see them live before they head up the coast.

Faith Floyd

Faith Floyd at a rooftop performance. | Abby Rath

Faith Floyd grew up in a musical household and started practicing classical piano at the age of six. She continued with piano into college and began writing her own music, leaning more into the alternative sound.

She started playing with a band in July of 2024, and although she’s never attended Saddleback herself, the bandmates she finds herself with are students or graduates of the Saddleback Commercial Music Program.

Floyd is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles but has pursued music as a career since then.

“I studied international relations,” she said. “And then after that, I kind of was like, wow I don’t really see myself doing anything else besides music. So, now I’m really trying to go for that and support myself with it.”

Floyd has released seven singles in her career and is planning on dropping an album by the end of this year. Check her out on Spotify, Apple Music, and Instagram.

Get your tickets to the Battle of the Bands to support local music and the Saddleback Commercial Music Program!

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