By Erin Ostrowsky

UNF’s Battle of the Bands winner, Walton with Stank Sauce, opened Oct. 27 at the mtvU Campus Invasion Tour.

Walton with Stank Sauce is the first Battle of the Bands winner to receive such a prize from Osprey Productions, the host of Battle of the Bands.

After the show, the band stayed backstage, recapped the experience and said it felt good about its performance.

Jawren Walton, the namesake for Stank Sauce, said the band’s style is a cross between Outkast, B.o.B, John Legend and The Black Eyed Peas.

“People who are open minded and enjoy listening to new, creative things will like our music,” Walton said.

Walton said although members of the band played together during their high school days at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts, they didn’t form Walton with Stank Sauce until after visiting the Osprey Productions website and learning about the Battle of the Bands.

Musical training and live performance bind this diverse group of musicians. Many of the band members are in the jazz studies program at UNF, but Demitry Glover, trumpet player, and Robert Mitchell, trombone player, are seniors at Douglas Anderson.

Niki Dawson took time off school to compete on NBC’s “The Voice” and shares vocals with Graciela Cain. Chase and Kevin Maddox are brothers who play the guitar and piano, respectively.

David Smith leads percussion on the drums, while Eric Ibarra plays bass. Walton sings and plays the saxophone.

“We’re thrilled to give UNF students a chance to show off their musical chops alongside prominent acts such as Jason Derulo, Jay Sean, We the Kings and Chiddy Bang,” said Carlo DiMarco, senior vice president of mtvU University Relations. 

DiMarco said Campus Invasion is a key part of mtvU’s mission to give college students unique opportunities to showcase their work in front of a larger audience.

“MTV approached us about having this event at UNF, so in turn, we had the ability to form the concert how we wanted it,” said Brent Fine, director of Osprey Productions. “We do not give cash prizes, so we thought this would be even better to have a local band open.”

Walton said he credits Stank Sauce’s unique sound to the band’s chemistry and dynamic instrument range.

He said he hopes the five songs they played for the opening act inspire fellow students. The band performed two covers and three original pieces.

“It’s kind of a thing that we say as musicians,” Walton said. “When you hear something that sounds good, you say, ‘That’s STANK!’”