{"id":88349,"date":"2026-03-03T13:43:46","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T21:43:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/?p=88349"},"modified":"2026-03-03T18:13:55","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T02:13:55","slug":"long-beach-battle-of-the-bands-districtwide-students-cash-studio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/eat-see-do-2\/see\/long-beach-battle-of-the-bands-districtwide-students-cash-studio","title":{"rendered":"Students vie for cash prizes, studio time, bragging rights in districtwide Battle of the Bands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s hard to be punk when your mom has to drive you to gigs. But Long Beach students are doing it anyway and getting a taste of what it\u2019s like to be a professional musician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rising musicians across the city will take the stage on Saturday in the fourth annual Battle of the Bands competition at downtown\u2019s At The Top nightclub. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In preparation, the sludge metal band Jezebel convened in a Los Altos garage this week to practice their 15-minute set: turning their amps up loud enough to risk neighbor complaints, adding new scars to their fretboards and headbanging until their faces disappeared in their hair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Sludge metal band Jezebel, left to right, Benji Scott, Joaquin Palafox, Adelah Rahni and Isaiah DJ practice in a garage in Long Beach on Monday, March 2, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Their sound, a slower, more melodic take on heavy metal, is influenced by sludge bands including Eyehategod, Buzzoven and Electric Wizard, said Adelah Rahni, the band\u2019s drummer. Rahni, a tenth grader, transferred from Wilson High School to Renaissance to focus on art and be closer to her bandmates \u2014 bassist Isaiah DJ and guitarists Benji Scott and Joaquin Palafox \u2014 who are Renaissance students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the first time, the competition is open to bands without any members from Renaissance High School. Ten bands representing at least seven area high and middle schools (as well as schools outside Long Beach Unified) will perform for an audience of hundreds. A panel of judges will select a winner based on musicality, performance and showmanship, and popular votes will decide second and third place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n Link<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Students will compete for stakes: A recording studio experience and $1,000 is on the table for the winners, and second place will take home $500. The top three awardees will earn a portion of ticket sales and the chance to perform another show at DiPiazza\u2019s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle of the Bands started as a homegrown event, organized by the Renaissance High School parents\u2019 group, and designed for Renaissance students. Three years ago, students competed for \u201ca gimmicky little trophy\u201d and the \u201cbragging rights of winning,\u201d said Jeremy Dodgen, a Renaissance parent and one of the organizers. But once they introduced a cash prize, students got fired up, said Ron Bazer, dean of students at Renaissance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adelah Rahni, drummer for the sludge metal band Jezebel, rehearses with her band in Long Beach on Monday, March 2, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The event is a fundraising opportunity to support Renaissance (Dodgen hopes to top $30,000 this year), but Bazer said it also gives students a taste of \u201cwhat it takes to be a professional artist.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bazer said that at last year\u2019s event, employees of the venue were surprised that the artists were high schoolers. \u201cThe talent here is better than what we\u2019re booking,\u201d Bazer remembered them saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Renaissance, students learn performance and technical skills in their classes, but \u201cthere is no class here to support that five-person band,\u201d Bazer said, so students must commit to hours of practice outside of school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Isaiah DJ, the bassist for sludge metal band Jezebel, holds up his worn-out pick after a rehearsal in Long Beach on Monday, March 2, 2026. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s what Jezebel has been doing for months. On Monday, Rahni\u2019s mom picked the band up after school (none of the bandmates have their driver\u2019s licenses yet), and the musicians took over the garage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This weekend, they\u2019ll compete against students from Browning, Cabrillo, Millikan and Wilson high schools as well as Marshall and Stephens middle schools. In addition to punk, rock and metal bands, solo artists, including DJs, will also perform. Last year, a beatboxer claimed first prize, in part because his sound was distinct from other performers, and he captured the audience\u2019s attention, Dodgen said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though students enter to win, Dodgen said he has been \u201cblown away at how supportive the students were of each other’s bands.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
From left to right, members of the sludge metal band Jezebel are Benji Scott, Joaquin Palafox, Isaiah DJ, and Adelah Rahni. Photo by Thomas R. Cordova.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Jezebel shares two musicians \u2014 Palafox and DJ \u2014 with Bloody America, another band competing on Sunday. Jezebel hopes to take home a prize, but they said their ultimate goal is to have a great show. \u201cI plan on rolling on the floor,\u201d DJ said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Battle of the Bands starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday and will include a silent auction and VIP table rentals. Attendees can purchase tickets online or at the door.<\/a> At The Top is at 105 W Broadway.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts from Renaissance, Browning, Cabrillo, Millikan, Wilson, Marshall and Stephens have put in countless hours of practice before their shot on stage Saturday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27516,"featured_media":88344,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"Acts from Renaissance, Browning, Cabrillo, Millikan, Wilson, Marshall and Stephens are lined up, hoping to claim the crown on Saturday. ","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32366],"tags":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[32368],"class_list":["post-88349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-see","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27516"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88349"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88354,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88349\/revisions\/88354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88349"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=88349"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=88349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}