Mother Nature doesn’t want you to know it, but it’s spring. And at Northwestern, that means one thing for us students: Dillo Day. But, alas, the only day of the year when NU students find nothing wrong with kissing the bottle of Absolut at 8 a.m. in preparation for the line-up of bands playing on the Lakefill is still a month away.

But it’s all right, because Mayfest – the month-long festival leading up to Dillo Day – starts tonight at 9 p.m. at Nevin’s Live with the Battle of the Bands. This year’s BotB line-up includes 10 bands – five tonight and five Friday night – fighting for the chance to play at Dillo Day 2006. Last year’s winners, Captain Teabag, return under their new name, Colonel Angus, and a very special member of the Chicago music scene (who will not be revealed until tonight) is scheduled to judge.

Weinberg and Music sophomore Syd Cohen, who produced BotB 2006, sat down with PLAY to talk about why BotB isn’t just a showcase of mediocre noise posing as rock, and why even she doesn’t know who’s going to be on the Dillo Day line-up.

PLAY: So what was the job of producer like?

Syd Cohen: I organized all of the application process, as well as the choosing process. The bands were chosen by a special events committee, which is all part of Mayfest and Dillo Day. It’s really the same as every year, but aside from that I’m the person who gets in touch with our venue, which is traditionally Nevin’s Live.

PLAY: And that’s the same this year, right?

SC: Yeah, it’s still going to be at Nevin’s. It’s starting at 9 p.m., and it usually goes until about midnight. Usually there are five bands per night. This year, because we pushed hard for applicants, we actually got to be picky with the bands we wanted. I think, because of that, Battle of the Bands is going to be pretty exceptional this year – not that it hasn’t been in the past.

PLAY: The judges are billed as being “in the musical ‘know.'” What’s that mean?

SC: What’s really exciting this year about our panel of judges is that we have somebody who works for Chicago Scene magazine that’s going to be sitting on the panel. I don’t want to give away who it’s going to be, but it’s somebody who is very prevalent in the Chicago scene. We might possibly have someone from the School of Music on the panel, as well as our co-chairs, (Weinberg seniors) Rachel Cort and Ben Wolfert. Rachel and Ben in particular have a lot of experience with music just by listening and being part of A&O and Mayfest. They’ve both been on the concert committee for A&O and Mayfest, and that committee is in charge of making the contracts and bringing the artists to NU. So, that gives them a lot of experience.

PLAY: How were the bands picked? They had to submit demo tapes and everything, right?

SC: We had more than 15 applicants. We usually get together during the weekend we get the applications in, and the special events committee, the person who ran BotB last year and Rachel and Ben listen to the demos. Between that group of people, we talk about quality of the demo, the musicality, the tightness of the group and the tone of the group. You also have to think about that group in relation to what the line-up is going to be, the other bands that are going to perform and how it’s all going to flow. You want to keep the audience on their toes; you don’t want one style of music. This year, we have everything from hip-hop to classic rock to funk. It really runs the gamut this year.

PLAY: Are there any bands that stand out?

SC: I think the line-up for both nights is really even. We have the winners from last year, who will be closing on Friday night. Aside from that, there are a lot of bands that have experience playing at Bill’s Blues, that have experience playing at the Chicago House of Blues or have upcoming dates (at either venue). A lot of the bands are really serious about the music. Their demos aren’t just demos for us; they’re demos that are coming with a press kit that are going to be sent out to record labels. They’re all on a pretty equal level.

PLAY: Any hints on the Dillo Day line-up?

SC: Since I’m on the special events committee, I have to tell you that they don’t let us know anything that’s going on. I probably won’t even know until a day before everyone else does.

– Steve Aquino