“To the whoops of the Battle of the Bands audience of about 300 in Algonquin auditorium last night, several dozen talented musicians, including a lone young woman, swayed, strummed, hopped, slapped, beat, sang, and danced their way through the evening. Griffon, the progressive rock band of 2003 Algonquin alumnus and band vocalist, Brian Dollaway, topped off the evening. The air resonated with ska, heavy metal and progressive rock sounds in what was a lively, entertaining show. The winner of the Best Band battle, was the all-freshman group, Third Man Factor (3MF), comprised of two guitarists, a bassist, a drummer, and a saxophonist. The group played and sang two original compositions, “The First Song that We Play” and “The End” in the light-rock style of the Dave Matthews Band. Though young in the field of contenders, they gave a solid performance and returned for a crowd-pleasing encore to finish the show.”

“THE BAND: James Massucco, 16, drums, sophomore, Algonquin Regional High School, Northborough; Riley Feeney, 15, bass guitar and backup vocals, sophomore, ARHS, Northborough; Kyle Champeon, 15, alto, tenor and soprano saxophones, sophomore, ARHS, Northborough; Jake Shea, 16, guitar and vocals, junior, Shrewsbury High School, Shrewsbury; Luke Tobin, 15, guitar and vocals, sophomore, Swampscott High School, Swampscott. WE PLAY: Massucco and Feeney described 3MF (3rd Man Factor) as "a rock jam band pretty heavily influenced by the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews Band and Phish." OUR SOUND: "We're definitely not mellow. But we're not super hard," said Massucco, while sharing input from Feeney. "We play with lots of energy, trading the leads back and forth," said Massucco. "When Kyle Champeon plays his sax, it can be soulful, intense, crazy loud or he can just bust it out. It gives us a unique sound some fans have compared to Phish," said Massucco.”