Ditmas Park-Based Band to Compete in Battle of Boroughs

A band with local ties is set to face-off in the Brooklyn leg of the fourth annual Battle of the Boroughs, a competition that pits New York-based bands against eachother in the search for the next big thing.

The Hsu-nami will compete Friday against 14 other bands at the Greene Space, WNYC and WQXR’s street-level performance venue. 

"The last time we did a battle of the bands was in 2006," said Brent Bergholm, the band's guitarist and a two-year resident of Ditmas Park. "We haven't been involved in a battle in a very long time. We're just looking forward to it because were all huge fans of WNYC and WQXR."

A rock band with a unique spin, Bergholm promises first-time listeners an experience they will not forget. 

"The band is a progressive rock band, and we have a chinese violin front the band," Bergholm said. "We kind of get loud. We're a very high energy show. We always get people moving. They always enjoy it and always rock out. People can expect a very original show."

Each band will perform one song for the audience and judges, who will then choose who moves on to the next level of the competition.

"All we're trying to do is make it look good," Bergholm said. "We chose the song we always close with, 'Entering the Mandala.' It's one of our older songs, we close every single show we play with it and it always kills. If we only had the chance to play one song, it would be it."  

The borough winners will go onto the final showdown, The Ultimate Battle, on June 21. The winners will be selected through votes from both the live studio audience and the online audience watching via live webcast. Voting will be available online at http://www.wnyc.org/thegreenespace and via mobile phone by texting vote codes to 69866. 

For the first time ever, the Ultimate Battle Grand Prize winner will be awarded with the opportunity to perform at the Apollo Theater as a guest artist at its signature series, Amateur Night.