The goal of a “battle of the bands” contest seems straightforward: rock harder than the competition, woo the judges, earn the cash prize. But for local skate punk outfit 3upFront—named after the physical placement of their microphones onstage—Saturday’s annual Your Music Olympicks Finals at The Catalyst is important for two reasons: sticking it to the man and boobs. Now before you get your panties in a twist, consider this—should the foursome win the $5,000 grand prize, a sizable portion will go toward promoting their upcoming “Boobies or Bust” Breast Cancer Awareness Tour. Kicking off in July, the tour will benefit the Susan G. Komen and Breast Cancer Awareness Funds, with 100 percent of the profits going to education and research. “We’re trying to get as much money and awareness as possible,” says frontman Adam Pierce. “After all, who doesn’t like boobies, in some shape or form?” Since moving to Santa Cruz from Tahoe in 2000, the band—whom bassist Josh Fisher describes as “Green Day, Pennywise, Sublime, NOFX and Jimmy Hendrix in a blender with tequila and a little Tapatio, to keep things spicy”—have made a name for themselves by championing causes, including what they believe is a community-wide disregard for independent music. “Most radio stations and venues don’t support local music,” says Pierce. “So [attending] this Battle of the Bands means taking a stand for local music in opposition to the naysayers, who tell you to give up on your dreams.” Despite opening for bands like Agent Orange and Hoobastank, 3upFront has never taken home the grand prize before—they came in second to the Expendables in 2002 and got third in 2003—but, the guys refuse to give up, “We do it because we love it; [music] helps us emotionally and physically,” says Pierce. Here’s to lucky number 3.
INFO: 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 14. Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $12/adv, $15/door. 423-1338. For details about the tour and their upcoming album, follow 3upFront on Facebook.
