Marlie Langer | Head Editor
February 18, 2026
It’s that time of year again! San Clemente High School is hosting its fourth annual Battle of the Bands. Bands from all different grades compete to win the title of Battle of the Bands winner. Hosted in front of the library from February 23rd to the 27th, 5 bands will play a setlist of just a few songs in order to try to win the crowd over. Junior Hanalei Marshall described how “excited [she] is to see all the bands play.” Now onto the bands!
Starting off the week with Trunk Puppy, a local punk band inspired by The Mountain Goats, Pavement, and everyone’s favorite, Nirvana. These multi-instrumentalists at hand are seniors Noah Boatright, Gabe Gonzales and sophomore Canaan Chong. While Chong shreds on guitar and leads on vocals, Gonzales slaps on bass, and Boatright tears up the drums. Trunk Puppy is the perfect band to kick off the week for SCHS Battle of the Bands.
Coming up on February 24th, The Flakes. They’re an alt-rock band mixed in with some beach grooves, how could anyone not like a band like this? Some of their favorite covers come from popular indie bands such as Cage the Elephant and Surf Curse. The Flakes have the youngest members of all the bands this year, including sophomores Maddox Gutierrez, Ammon Wommack, and Ethan Gilford, and juniors Lani Chavez and Luxx Dorning. I can’t wait to see what the younger members will bring to the table this year.
Starring on February 25th is Recktify, a melodic punk quartet who takes after punk bands like Descendents, Jawbreaker, and Fugazi. This all junior band has Cruise Baker leading on vocals and rhythm guitar, Tommy Suckiel on bass, Carmine Carrete on lead guitar, and RJ on drums.
Back again performing on February 26th is Tumbleweed, a folk country band featuring only San Clemente High School seniors: Aiden Koch, Austin Harper, Gavin Davis, and Zeke Mcstay. They are heavily inspired by country artist Zach Bryan, even covering a few of his songs during their shows. Having also competed in the 2025 SCHS Battle of the Bands, they have a great shot at the title!
Finishing the week off strong on February 27th is Backyard Campers, a pop-punk and emo style band consisting of all SCHS seniors once again. Backyard Campers gets inspiration from bands such as Title Fight, Blink-182, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Although they are a newer band, they have band members such as Blake Price, guitar and vocalist, and Talani Camacho, bassist, who competed in the previous Battle of the Bands in the band Reservoir. Now they play in Backyard Campers alongside Kieran Moran on drums and Mason Steinorth on guitar. In an interview with Blake Price, he described how his band doesn’t focus on the competition but rather how much they “enjoy playing live and writing music.” Price emphasized that they “want to show what they have created to the people,” rather than just focusing on winning a competition. One of Price’s favorite songs to cover with Backyard Campers is “Stars” by Hum along with many other post-hardcore punk songs.
Looking at the competition this year it’s hard to say if there’s a clear winner. I guess you’ll just have to find out for yourself by watching the SCHS Battle of the Bands at lunch and casting your vote at the end of the week!
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