Briggs & Stratton names winner of Battle of the Bands competition

Briggs & Stratton Corporation  announced that the band “This is Energy” has been declared the winner of the 2010 “Battle of the Bands” contest after a month-long online fan vote.
This is Energy beat out nearly 300 bands from around the world and will perform on Saturday, June 26 on the Briggs Big Backyard stage at Summfest.
 “This year’s Battle was one for the ages,” said Todd Teske, president and chief executive officer of Briggs & Stratton. “When we named our top three bands a few weeks ago, we knew music fans wouldn’t disappoint. We were absolutely blown away by how many votes came in to the site, and also how close the vote was at the end."
Nearly 300 bands of every kind of music genre entered the contest, which launched in April.
“It’s been a long road, but we are so excited to make it to Milwaukee!” said Adam Gardner, vocalist and guitarist for This is Energy. “We entered the Battle knowing that it would be up to the fans around the world to vote us in, and we’re so fortunate to have loyal admirers to get us this far! We’re dedicated to ourselves and our fans, and are thrilled out of our minds to get to rock out for thousands of music lovers at Summerfest next month.”
In addition to Gardner, members of This is Energy include Britton Campbell on drums; Charlie Springhart on bass guitar; and Dave Baronio on guitar. All of the band members are from St. Louis, with the exception of Baronio who hails from Lille, France.
A committee of Briggs & Stratton employees narrowed down the talent to the top three, at which time the contest went back to a fan vote. Ridge Runner, a country band from Cincinnati, and The Minus Lo Fi, an alternative band from Verona, Italy, rounded out the top three. Briggs & Stratton also used Twitter and Facebook to get the word out about the contest.
Song samples from the top three bands can be heard by visiting the Briggs & Stratton Battle of the Bands MySpace page