Before the Battle of the Bands can take place, the $500 proposal for the event must first battle its way through the Campus Activities Board.

Matt Hite, concerts chairperson, made a proposal at this week’s meeting for the annual Battle of the Bands, sponsored by CAB.

The proposal asked for $500, $450 of which would go to contracting the sound out, and $50 would be the prize for the first place band.

Initial ideas for the location of the concert were quickly ruled out, including Taylor Auditorium, Webster Hall and the Anderson auditorium. However, Hite suggested that the concert could be held outdoors, possibly at the tennis courts located across from the residence halls.

But Julie Blackford, director of student activities, was apprehensive of the idea, regardless of the money or location.

“I’m scared to death because our first concert was bad,” Blackford said.

However, a representative from Rock 105, a Joplin radio station, said the show would be promoted for free during the local show, and all the bands selected would promote the show heavily.

The discussion then shifted to the bands who would be allowed to play at the show. Hite thought five to seven bands would be a good number, but many CAB members worried the show would end up being entirely rock music. Hite said it all depends on the bands who audition.

“I don’t have a problem with it being country, bluegrass, whatever,” he said. “The problem is that we don’t usually get any other types of bands to submit demos.”

In the past, any band who wanted to play simply had to submit a demo tape, and then the tapes were reviewed by a panel of judges.

The best bands were selected to play.

Blackford thought the system would work fine, but said student bands should be given priority.

“Even if the band sucks, if it’s a student band, they should be given priority,” Blackford said.

The proposal is still under consideration and will be discussed further at the next meeting.

In other news, the CAB/Koinonia sponsored Tola dance, held March 29, drew 68 people for the dinner and approximately 120 people for the dance. CAB contributed $800 for the dance portion of the event.

The next CAB meeting is set for 2 p.m. Monday, in the second floor lounge of Billingsly Student Center. The meeting is open to all students.