The first rule of starting a band is to come up with an awesome name for people to remember. With a name like The Corduroy Shorts, these four WSU students have that rule covered.

The folk quartet of Alex VanTuyl, Jeff Lawler, Tyler Goering and Josh Kuhn will play at the Student Entertainment Board’s battle of the bands at 7 p.m. Friday in the CUB Senior Ballroom.

Vantuyl handles vocals and guitar, Lawler the bass, Goering the banjo and mandolin, and Kuhn the violin.

“The current lineup has been playing together since November,” VanTuyl said. “However, Tyler, Josh and I have been playing together for about a year.” While the band is from Pullman, all members got here in different ways. Kuhn is from Montana and Georing is from Spokane, while both Lawler and VanTuyl hail from Adna.

The band met the way most students meet friends: class.

“I met Alex in English 101, and we had a lot of discussions because you get a lot of opportunity to discuss in that class,” Kuhn said. “He said he played folk music, and I played folk violin. We got together and played a few times to see if our styles meshed and they did.” Corduroy Shorts has self-released one EP, “Layer of Dust.” It contains six songs and will be available for purchase for $5 at the SEB Battle of the Bands, VanTuyl said.

The folk music gives the band’s musicians a chance to experiment with different styles, something Kuhn enjoys.

“Personally, I really enjoy playing the folk music because it’s different,” he said. “I enjoy playing it as well as Irish jigs in addition to classical. It makes me a more versatile musician.” The band hopes to win the battle. Given the band’s track record in these competitions, VanTuyl thinks they are due for a victory.

“We’re on pace to win this thing,” he said. “We got third place at last year’s Battle of the Bands and second place at the acoustic Battle of the Bands. We’re either gonna win this thing or not even place.” Both Kuhn and VanTuyl advised students to attend the SEB battle of the bands rather than the Pullman Moose Lodge counterpart, which takes place at the same time.

“No one will go to that one,” Kuhn said. “Theirs will be nothing but grunge, metal and death metal. If people want to hear some real music and not a bunch of screaming and metal riffs, come to ours.” VanTuyl offered slightly different reasoning.

“Our sound system will be a lot better,” he said. “Plus, the sexiest band on the planet is going to be performing at the SEB BOB.”