Three bands took the stage at Saint Mary's Student Center Lounge Saturday night to battle for studio time and raise money.
The Battle of the Bands, organized by the Saint Mary's Dance Marathon Committee, was held to raise funds for Riley's Hospital for Children and for the upcoming Dance Marathon in the spring.
Dance Marathon committee leaders said they were proud of the event's success. The committee's co-president, Pauline Kistka, said if they broke even financially, the event had raised some awareness in the Saint Mary's and Notre Dame communities.
Katius, a pop/punk band from Dayton, Ohio, won the contest and the prize - a recording session with Peak Audio Productions.
The three bands played to a crowd of about 50 students, mostly from Saint Mary's.
Katius' members were mostly high school students, with one St. Clair Community College sophomore. Katius' connection to Saint Mary's was through one of their member's, who has two sisters at the College. Katius impressed the judges with their performance of their original song "Another Day" and their covers of other bands.
Harper's Valley, a band made of Notre Dame students Will Weicher, Chris Terschluse, Chris Urban, Jim Weicher, Rob Mineo and Chris Doolin played several songs, including "Hard to Hide," as well as a cover of a Dave Matthews Band song.
Saxophones, violins, bass and drums made up its set.
"They can play their instruments," freshman Laura Mullen said. "I like it a lot."
Sophomore Katie Fenner thought that they were good as well. She said she liked their incorporation of saxophone and violin.
"You don't see that a lot in college bands," Fenner said. "They're original."
Saint Mary's freshman Rebecca Schiappa performed several acoustic originals like "Sweet and Sour Pork" and "Goodbye," a song she wrote for her sister when she left for college.
Katius members were impressed by Harper's Valley's performance and said they were surprised to win first place.
Originally four bands were expected, but a member of Solus and Sola jammed his finger and the band backed out about an hour before show time.
