Frattle of the Bands aims to bridge Greek, non-Greek gap

Music Box, along with co-sponsors including Lehigh’s Interfraternity Council, Break the Silence and Lehigh After Dark, is hosting its annual Frattle of the Bands, Saturday at 8 p.m. in Lamberton.

Frattle of the Bands is a charity event that allows on-campus fraternities to form bands and perform in front of a live crowd. One hundred percent of the profits go to charity.

Last year’s donation of $1,000 went to the Boys and Girls Club of Bethlehem.

The money raised this year will be donated to Crime Victims Council of the Lehigh Valley to help assist the recovery of victims of sexual assault in the area.

Evan Eckersley, ’17, president of Music Box, said this year’s goal is to raise $1,200. He also said this year’s event is more structured and better planned. The turnout will be greater, he said.

After coming up with the idea for Frattle of the Bands last year, Eckersley said this year he has a lot more experience running the event and last year’s kinks will be worked out for a better show.

Even with the short preparation time, about 200 people came out to watch the 2015 event.

There are already more participants set to perform this year, he said.

“We expect a big turnout from Greek and non-Greek students alike, and great competition from the variety of acts,” said Chris Dallao, ’18, the Music Box treasurer and emcee of the event. “We’ve got acts with all sorts of different sounds, bringing students from all over campus together.”

By partnering with groups like Break the Silence, Dallao hopes to reach a greater portion of the Lehigh community.

Participation in this event is on a first-come, first-served basis with seven spots for bands sponsored by fraternities and sororities.

The event is off to a good start, with six bands already scheduled to perform, Eckersley said.
Some of the bands performing include Crescent Left, an alternative rock band representing Chi Phi; Friends with Benefits, an acoustic pop band representing Alpha Omega Epsilon and Sigma Phi Delta; and Red Light Rally, a Southern rock band representing Phi Sigma Kappa.

“The first time we ever played together was at this Frattle of the Bands last year, and it’s just a really fun event,” said Jamie Currie, ’17, Red Light Rally’s lead singer. “You get to see other bands around campus, that’s a huge plus. And it’s always fun to be on stage and performing.”

Along with putting on a great performance, Music Box wants to make connections with the rest of Lehigh’s campus to help close the gap they feel is within the Lehigh student body, Eckersley said. The club puts on other events throughout the semester, such as open mic nights.

“I think the Frattle of the Bands provides a unique opportunity to bring together Greek life and the rest of the Lehigh community in an entertaining event,” he said. “It’s to feature Lehigh talent. That is the point of Music Box, we feature only Lehigh talent. It’s really entertaining to watch.”