The battle will rage Friday night as four local music acts take the stage in the Ohio Union Performance Hall and compete in the 12th Annual Romophos Battle of the Bands.

Rapper Poitier Pockets and rock bands The Kraze, The Bug Chasers and headliner Fever Fever will face off to help raise money for a good cause.

Romophos, a sophomore class honorary at Ohio State, holds Battle of the Bands each year to raise money for a charitable organization.

Laura MacInnis, a member of Romophos, said some years have been more successful than others, but she would guess that some years, Battle of the Bands has raised up to $2,000 for the selected organization.

This year, the money will go to Adopt-a-School, a program in which OSU students tutor and mentor underprivileged kids at Columbus middle schools.

The night will feature performances by each of the four acts along with a raffle and refreshments. The winner receives an iPod Nano.

MacInnis said the organization made a few changes this year.

It decided to feature a rapper to add more variety to the musical acts. She said she hopes the addition will attract more people to the event.

“We added a rapper, so there’s kind of a variety,” MacInnis said. “I hope this brings in more people with different musical taste to the event.”

The bands were selected through an audition process in which they had to perform in front of a group of Romophos students, MacInnis said.

Up-and-coming rapper Poitier Pockets performs both hip-hop and alternative music, according to his website.

“I want to make music the world can relate to,” Pockets said on his website. “I want to make music that influences, if not changes, lives.”

The Kraze, a rock band from Chillicothe, formed when its four members met at their hometown church and decided to make music, according to their website.

The Bug Chasers call their music “rock and roll with a bit of swagger and a lot of style.” The four-man band was influenced by artists such as David Bowie and The Sex Pistols, according to its website.

Fever Fever, the headliner, released its full-length album “Love Quest” in November, and their music “is driven by rich, alternative-pop anthems,” according to its website.

MacInnis said that all the acts are talented, but she she has been very impressed by Fever Fever.

“I just really enjoy their music,” MacInnis said of the headliner. “Their music is really catchy.”

A panel of judges selects the winning band. The grand prize is one free track professionally mixed and mastered, MacInnis said.

This year, Romophos also decided to change the venue. Battle of the Bands has traditionally been held at the Newport Music Hall. Friday’s event will be held in the Ohio Union.

Romophos is hoping to fill the Performance Hall, which holds 1,000 people, MacInnis said.
MacInnis said the event has been popular in the past and is usually voted the best event put on by any class honorary at OSU. She said Romophos is hoping to continue this trend.

MacInnis said she would consider the event a success if “the people who came to the event enjoyed the music and have fun raising money for a good cause.”

Romophos’ Battle of the Bands will take place at 8 p.m. Friday. Tickets are $5 in advance or $7 at the door.

Pre-sale tickets can be purchased from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m Thursday and Friday at the RPAC in the booth between the Welcome Center and Courtside Café, as well as on the Oval, weather-permitting.