As if Dillo Day could get any loonier.
Hip-hop band Looney and the Tunes topped seven other acts as the winner of Mayfest’s Battle of the Bands on Friday night at Tommy Nevin’s Pub Evanston, and will open Dillo Day’s lineup May 29.
Jordan Looney, the band’s emcee, said the group was excited about the win and noted that the feeling contrasts with how they felt after missing out on the top spot in last year’s show.
“It’s my last Dillo Day to be a part of,” the Communication senior said. “So this is a sort of dream come true.”
The band formed Winter Quarter 2009, Looney said. He and drummer Noah Pentelovitch had decided to put together a live band, and Looney said Pentelovitch had found musicians for the seven-piece group after Looney returned that winter from studying abroad.
Looney said their music is “a real eclectic blend of influences we all have,” and named off genres including hip-hop, rock, punk, electronica and blues.
“Everyone comes in with a lot of different types of music they like to play,” he said. “We try to incorporate that.”
Judges, including former Associated Student Government President Mike McGee and former “American Idol” contestant John Park, based their decisions on four criteria: maturity, or stage presence; tightness, or musical cohesiveness; talent and audience reaction.
Mike Gebhardt, Mayfest co-chair and judge along with fellow Mayfest co-Chair Katie Halpern, said he rated Looney and the Tunes as one of the top acts in the competition.
“It’s not just a simple hip-hop beat that’s behind (Looney) while he’s rapping,” the Weinberg junior said. “There’s talented musicians behind him. It’s something that’s unique in hip-hop, or at least not that common.”
The Roots, who played Dillo Day in 2007, are one of Looney and the Tunes’ main influences, and Looney said it shows in the makeup of their band.
“It’s not just some drums,” he said. “We work hard and make sure there’s a lot of musicality in everything we do.”
Looney said it’s too early to be nervous about opening for Regina Spektor, but he said they’re more excited to play.
“We’re cooking up some tunes magic,” he said. “Coming up with some new mashups … some new music to really blow people out of the water.”
– ANDREW SCOGGIN
