After a grueling 29-week run of one to two shows a week, the fourth running of the Benchmark Battle of the Bands will finally come to a conclusion on Sept. 30 at the Vogue.

Much is at stake for the eight bands that have managed to make their way to the final show. The first place prize package includes $10,000, a late-model touring van from Lockhart Cadillac and a recording package at Echo Park.

Although the answers to the four questions below may be thematically very similar, each band in this diverse lineup represents a different angle from the starting line.

Sammy Clevenge, About the Fire (aboutthefire.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Clevenger: We have scads and scores of great friends, drinking buddies and jail acquaintances that would love nothing more than to see a heavier, HC-based band with weird-ass cookie monster vox win, just to see some chaos ensue.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Clevenger: Project: Bottlecap are going to turn a lot of heads this year, Pravada have the fresh appeal, only being a year old. Maybe it’s 7DFC’s year? Maybe The Common will finally get the respect they truly deserve? Maybe Gwen from Lunar Event’s nekkid flyer will be what it takes.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Clevenger: Sell our current van and buy a trailer and maybe a PA and About The Fire and Project: Bottlecap have made a pact that if either band wins, we will take the money and studio time and release a split record.

What’s at stake for them: being able to persuasively present hardcore to the masses.

Mike Hayes, The Common (thecommononline.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Hayes: Maybe we were just due. Even a blind pig finds an acorn occasionally.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Hayes: I’d say 7DFC is the favorite since they’ve been there before. I think the Shivers are fast becoming the best band in town, but it’s a toss-up. Fortunately, most of the other bands in the finals are friends of ours so whoever wins is cool with us.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Hayes: Pay off debt! Try to get the man off our back, the man in the shape of a Visa card.

What’s at stake for them: gaining the recognition this tenured group has been working towards for years.

The Black Weasel, The Crypto Cats (cryptocats.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Weasel: Luck.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Weasel: Pravada. We could win and we could get eighth. We’re just happy to be there and we hope people like the show.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Weasel: Finish our record and play more shows. Everybody talks about the cash and the van, but the Echo Park recording package is the real prize.

What’s at stake for them: rising above the niche fan base for this band of ringer musicians.

Derek Osgood, Lunar Event (lunarevent.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Osgood: Medication and promotion. Adding new members helped raise the credibility factor a bit. Reaching out to a fan base that isn’t just the regular music scene club-goers.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Osgood: Depending on the phase of the moon, it could be anybody’s night. Let’s just hope it’s a lunar event!

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Osgood: New PA, equipment, recording, radio promotion and we would then use the van to “chase our music” around the country where our songs have been added to radio.

What’s at stake for them: proving their recent lineup additions broadened their reach.

Philip Williams, Pravada (pravadamusic.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Williams: We just tried to kick some ass, and it worked. Also, Jessie Lee is magic. We need to do this quick before his ship comes back for him ...

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Williams: Project: Bottlecap. I think we might take out some knee caps, but not sure of an all-out fatality.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize? Williams: Personally, I want to get my van paid off and then spend the rest on the new Sean Jean and OutKast clothing lines. That is just my cut.

What’s at stake for them: a cushy jump start out of their infancy.

Alex Bond, Project: Bottlecap (projectbottlecap.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Bond: We played our asses off like we always try to do. We move with our music, not focusing on the crowd too much.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Bond: About the Fire. They’re our brother band in the city, but we feel pretty good about our chances.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize? Bond: Duh, we’d build a time machine. With whatever is left over, we’re going to fund the Project: Bottlecap and About the Fire split record.

What’s at stake for them: Although one of Indy’s buzz bands, they have yet to truly arrive.

Scott Dubbs, Seven Degrees from Center (7dfc.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Dubbs: Lots of promotion and great friends/fans willing to support us.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Dubbs: All of the finalists are great. We’re just happy to get to play the Vogue again. Sharing the night with these bands makes it even better.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Dubbs: We would like to record a new album this fall and use the money for touring.

What’s at stake for them: Making three appearances in the Battle of the Bands finals in four years, 7DFC are the Buffalo Bills of the competition.

Royston Lloyd, The Shivers (theshiversmusic.com)

NUVO: How did you make it to the finals?

Lloyd: Some of our friends voted for us, some friends of other bands voted for us and some judges voted for us. We ended up having more votes than the other bands we played against.

NUVO: Who is the toughest competitor and how do you feel about your chances?

Lloyd:Aside from Chandler’s pompadour? This is the third time that 7DFC have played at the Battle finals, so I would suspect they have a larger fanbase than most of the bands. Our chances? I think there would be a better chance of me inventing plaid/tartan paint.

NUVO: What are your plans for the grand prize?

Lloyd: We might take 50 percent of it for our own evil personal schemes and the rest would probably pay for our second album.

What’s at stake for them: After playing for a few years, the mod rockers could make good use the accreditation.