The bell rings, the battle has begun.
Teachers and students go head to head.
They get their guitars, drums and voices to show who is the top band at Van Nuys High School.
On April 9, at 4:30 p.m., a band of students, AMF (Asian Mother F**kers), went against a band of teachers, The Yondrs.
AMF is a teen band that has been together for a month. The teachers on the other hand only got together to defeat the students.
Seven teachers got together and performed six songs including “Zombie” by The Cranberries and “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan. One of the vocalists, Mr. Colin Rabago was very nervous to perform but pushed through and made the crowd cheer.
“I was really excited to be a part of the battle,” said Mr. Rabago. “Being a part of the show as opposed to just watching it was something I was looking forward to. By the end, I was actually really glad I chose to actually be in it because it was a lot of fun.”
History teacher Mr. Jacob Ferrin, on the other hand, has performed before as UCLA’s Band Director in 2010. He was quite excited to perform again, and even more against some of his own students, like senior Dwayne Famenia.
Famenia is one of the guitarists for AMF, he shares the beginnings of the band and how the idea of a battle against teachers came to be.
“AMF formed about a month ago after Junior Christian Guevarra joined,” says Famenia. “This is actually our first formal show. A few of us have performing experience, but for the rest of them it’s their first time in front of a crowd. We have some upcoming performances that we’re really looking forward to.”
The initial plan for a “Battle of the Bands” came to be in 2023, Famenia asked various teachers but no one agreed until Mr. Ferrin.
“It was delayed for quite some time until Mr. Ferrin took the concept a step further and suggested having bands battle instead of two guitarists going against each other,” says Famenia.
Once the show actually came to be, it was a hit. The Junior Board sold over 100 tickets and various students around campus have talked about it.
Someone in the audience was junior Brianne Tolentino. She went for some extra credit but was pleasantly surprised with the show.
“This was one of the most fun performances I’ve ever watched,” says Tolentino. “Both bands were so talented and I really enjoyed all the songs that were played! I almost lost my voice from all the cheering I did!”
The songs are great with just the instrument, but for a song to be complete it needs vocalists.
The Yondrs had choir teacher Ms. Debrorah Tejada, as well as math teachers Ms. Kyrie Martin, Ms. Lydia Sadighi and Mr. Colin Rabago. They all sang different parts of different songs to get the sound they wanted. Similarly, AMF also had various singers, they were sophomore Dylan Chantarawong, junior Krystelle Arcinas and senior Adrianna Bean.
Bean is previously known for her vocals in Vannaires in choir and the school musical, “Mamma Mia!”. She had an amazing time on stage with both bands and described the experience of singing for a band.
“It was such an honor to be on stage with such awesome talent,” says Bean. “We had a great audience and all the performers brought their ‘A game’. Even with the friendly competition, you could tell everyone was just having fun putting on an amazing show!”
The show was for fun and to support the Junior Board at VNHS, raising well over $1,000 and raising the spirits of the students and teachers that attended.
