It’s the amalgamation of guitars, banjos, mandolins and, often, haunting vocals. Call it folk, New Grass or even roots Americana. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a sound that has been resurrected in the world of popular music over the last few years with the help of bands like Mumford and Sons and The Civil Wars. In Northwest Georgia the band The Kamikaze Dali is leading the subgenre’s revival. The Calhoun based band is being noticed by music fans in the area, especially with their participation in 95.7 The Ridge’s Battle of the Bands competition to benefit Cancer Navigators. Fans have cast more than 800 votes for the band and members are thrilled with the outpouring of support, especially because of the cause the competition represents. “It’s awesome,” said Chris Clark of Kamakazi Dali. “We can’t believe how much support we’ve gotten. I think we broke a record for the number of votes. We have 877 (as of Wednesday). Our goal is a thousand by May 31.” The cause hits home for the band members, Clark said. “Every one of us have had someone we know impacted by cancer,” he said. The band is made up of Clark, Jason Murphy, Kara Headrick, Jeremy Wells and Kevin Weaver. Some members live in Calhoun, others in Rome, Lafayette and Dalton. They have been playing together for about three months, but some of the members have performed together before. “We do as many shows as we can,” Clark said. “We usually have something every weekend and we do a monthly show in Lafayette.” Their sound is somewhat reminiscent of The Civil Wars, featuring both male and female vocals to go along with a string ensemble and drums. “I think our sound came naturally and we had chemistry right away,” Clark said. “We each play a couple of different instruments and we have a really good dynamic.” To find out more about the Battle of the Bands, visit: www.theridge957.com/battle2013, where each band has a bio, band photo and an mp3 of the song it submitted, then click on the DONATE button and follow the direction. You can also visit The Kamakazi Dali’s website at www.thekamikazedali.com.