Honda Puts its Battle of the Bands on DVD
Honda is putting a different spin on its annual collegiate battle of the bands, issuing a DVD of last year’s competition leading up to last January’s finale at the Georgia Dome.
“Stompin’ At the Dome” chronicles the trip each of the 10 bands took to make it to the final stage of the Honda Battle of the Bands. The bands nominated to compete in the finals represent four athletic conferences of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
The DVD was produced in response to persistent requests from students and alumni for a video record of the competition over the five years Honda has been running it, according to American Honda spokesman Ronald Childs. The $14.99 families and friends will spend on it will go to support the respective music programs presented in the video.
Bands depicted cover tunes ranging from “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley to Michael Jackson’s “Wanna Be Startin’ Something.”
“It’s a vehicle to raise more money for the schools,” said Childs.
The DVD will be available for sale at each of eight venues that this year’s Stompin’ at the Dome Campus Tour will visit, starting at Clark Atlanta University on Oct. 6 and concluding at Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio on Oct. 25. The finals take place, after 41 competing school bands are narrowed to 10, at the Georgia Dome on Jan. 26.
The DVDs can also be purchased online at HondaBattleOfTheBands.com, where votes can also be cast for the bands competing this year, and at Amazon.com.
American Honda Motor Co. awards $141,000 in scholarships to the participating bands. The 41 HBCU schools each receive $1,000 for the performances during the tour, along with 31 other schools. Each school represented by the 10 finalist bands receives $10,000 grants to support their respective music programs.
