The Student Association’s Late Night Events group paired up with Music Maker Productions to put on Plazapalooza: a battle of the bands on Oct. 18. Plazapalooza gave four bands the opportunity to play and be judged by “The Weeks,” a well-known band from Jackson, Miss.
Thomas Fitzner, sophomore international business and French major, is Music Maker Productions’s publicity chair. According to Fitzner, the event was a tremendous success that not only showcased wonderful talent, but also showed what Mississippi State University has to offer to those with musical interests.
“We did relatively low publicity for this, but it was really user-driven. Those bands wanted a good turnout just as much as we did, and they really pulled their end as far as promoting the event goes. It showed a lot of local talent to the Starkville area and gave State exposure,” Fitzner said.
Plazapalooza also gave the four bands a chance to be heard and presented the winner of the competition with an opportunity to play at Bulldog Bash, along with some other prizes. The winning band, Surviving Allison, with its lively stage presence and original songs, has only been together for three months. 
Chris Ekiss, lead vocalist and pianist for Surviving Allison, said he does not think how long they have been a band matters because their future together is bright.
“This thing has been going on for three months, and we have been preparing for this competition since Monday. We just wanted exposure. We don’t do this for the money. If we cared about money, we would’ve quit before we started. We are just excited to get to play together for everyone,” Ekiss said.
Surviving Allison will not be close to Starkville again until the weekend of Nov. 2 for Bulldog Bash, but Ekiss revealed a release date for the band’s first album. 
“We start recording our CD this Sunday, and it will be done in February. We are hoping to have a release party on Feb. 16,” Ekiss said.
For more information on Surviving Allison, its website is SurvivingAllison.com