Special to The Chronicle from WQAQ:

From Freshman dorms to off-campus houses, Quinnipiac has long been a breeding ground for diverse and talented music acts. Last Saturday, the best Quinnipiac has to offer were showcased during 98.1 WQAQ’s annual Open Mic Night in Alumni Hall.

Eight bands competed before roughly 200 spectators for a grand prize of $300 and the chance to compete in a multi-college Battle of the Bands at Toad’s Place later in the semester. The bands played original material and were mostly featuring of Quinnipiac students. The bands ranged in style from punk to metal to jam.

For those who attended, there was pizza, soda, free posters and CDs, a raffle for gift certificates to Pasta Plus and WQAQ t-shirts.

Kicking the show off was Jay Bisogni playing an original song in the vein of Bob Dylan. Jay had previously taken the stage with last year’s winner, Chris Fredda, who returned this year to win third place with his closing solo acoustic performance of new material. Ridgemont, a punk band based out of Massachusetts and returning competitor also put in an incredible performance, including the song “Someday” which was recently featured on MP3.com.

Several bands made their Open Mic Night debut on Saturday, including Sub-Tropic, Weapons of Mass Destruction and second place winner The Deland Coalition. Fronted by Sean Deland, the band played an amazing set of grass-roots rock accented by long harmonica solos.

Placing just slightly higher in the judges’ scores, though, was Camera Shy Paparazzi in their first live performance. This eclectic rock duo consists of David Blanchard and Craig Castagna, both of the band Likewise, a former winner at Open Mic Night. Along with the prize money and the chance to play at Toad’s Place in New Haven, they also won the opening slot for WQAQ’s Spring Concert to be held on March 29.