Six hours of thrashing rock music capped CAB’s Springfest Saturday afternoon at the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom.

Claiming the grand prize of $150, local band Fixate won the Battle of the Bands.

Eight bands were chosen by CAB – out of the more than 50 bands that submitted demo tapes – to participate in the live contest.

“It was tough,” said Ryan London, Fixate guitarist and DeKalb resident. “All of the bands here today were really good.”

Local metal band Dysception took second place and Sinclair won third.

Each band was given 30 minutes to perform with 15 minutes of set-up time in between. Four incognito judges were scattered throughout the audience to rate the bands on originality, stage presence and overall performance.

Other bands performing included ASA, Bicycle Day, Current, Pelao and Simple Son.

The event originally was slated to take place outside at Central Park (between Stevenson and Grant Towers), but because of the cold and windy weather, it was moved to the ballroom.

Throughout the marathon music event, crowd sizes ranged from 20 to 100. But the lack of audience didn’t seem to alter the bands’ performances.

Ryan Kerchner, Fixate lead singer and DeKalb resident, explained where his energy came from.

“You know, you get nervous and anxious,” Kerchner said. “I let that fuel my energy. It builds up and then I just let it all out.”

Simple Son, a local band comprised of NIU students, fearlessly took the stage in the first time slot, playing all original tunes.

“Sure, it’s rock ‘n’ roll, but we call it melodic rock,” said Adam Schalke, Simple Son guitarist and senior business management major. “Instead of doing the same old chords, we try and create our own sound. Of course, it’s hard to be different when so much stuff has already been done.”

While Simple Son did not place in one of the top three winner slots, the 25-to-30 member crowd present for its performance seemed to like what they heard.

“The weather thing sucks, but our friend-base showed up to give us support,” said Brad Sawicki, Simple Son bassist and sophomore communication major.

“Yeah, all 10 of them,” Schalke said.

Simple Son and Fixate will perform together May 7 at Otto’s Underground, 118 E. Lincoln Highway.