Heroes Defeated, Yet Positive about Future

The Hard Luck Heroes, a “powerpop” band with 90's rock influences out of Steubenville, OH, participated in the Battle of the Bands tournament held on December 2 at the Altar Bar in Pittsburgh, PA.

However, the Heroes didn’t take home the first place title for the evening.

The Hard Luck Heroes may not have won the Battle of the Bands in Pittsburgh on December 2, but this definitely didn’t discourage them.

Bassist Kyle Batting and drummer Matt Cochran took time to reflect on their performance that night.

Batting has played for the band since 2009 and has been playing bass for nearly three years.



Matt is a founding member of Hard Luck Heroes - he was a member when the band was called "Rock Radio Allstars."

Though they both performed the same show, Batting’s and Cochran’s perspectives and opinions about it were very different. Batting said he didn’t expect to win when he started playing the show, but he was excited nonetheless. He said it was different than being in a show that the band would normally play in, but this fact is part of what made it more exciting.

Even though Cochran was intimidated about the presence of the two metal bands at the show, he said he tried to keep an open mind about the outcome of the show.

Drummer Matt Cochran reflects on his performance at the Battle of the Bands, held on December 2.

“Even though we were slated not to win from the get-go, I think the competitiveness added a bit more flavor to it than just a regular show,” said Batting.

The band found out that the show was judged partly based on the ticket sales of the fan base for each band, so they knew that their chances decreased from that fact alone since only a few of their fans showed up, Batting said. The Hard Luck Heroes were also the only band from Ohio among four other bands from Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas.

“We can't compete with that,” Batting said.

Cochran said that he was a little more nervous than usual at this show since other bands were watching them play.

“When you’re in a house full of musicians, they know what to look for,” said Cochran. “If you slip up, everyone is going to know that you did.”

Cochran said that he enjoys performing in non-competitive shows better than shows such as the Battle of the Bands.

“I had good feelings about [the show],” said Batting. “I didn’t know what to think of the venue [before the show] because I had never played there before, but it was a lot smaller than I anticipated.”

He said that the smaller atmosphere of the Altar Bar made him a lot more comfortable while playing on stage.

Batting discussed how the atmosphere of the venue made him less nervous and shared a story about an audience member's behavior that night.

Since this was the band’s first competitive experience, they had new opinions on what they favored more: a battle such as this one or a show like the ones they normally play.

Batting said that he enjoys them both equally, but for different reasons.

Batting thought the band could practice more to increase their chances of winning in the future and to move on to the final competition.

When asked if he would ever participate in another competitive show like this one, Batting said that he, as well as the rest of the band, would “do it again in a heartbeat.”