Five bands to rock the stage for Spring Sing 2011
James Bunning, a fourth-year English student, has been working on writing new songs and developing his music since he performed at Spring Sing two years ago.
By Lauren Roberts
May 17, 2011 12:13 a.m.
(Top) Nick Papageorge, fourth-year English student and lead guitarist of thatwasthen rehearses for their Spring Sing appearance. The band took the prize for the best band performance at last year’s show. (Above) Lily Stern, fourth-year psychobiology student sings as lead vocalist for Fusion, which will make its first Spring Sing appearance this Friday as they compete in the band category.
When the rockers of thatwasthen took the prize for best band in last year’s Spring Sing competition, they had only just begun recording their work. Since then, the band released a self-titled LP in January and has played a range of night club venues. And though the band is pursuing music professionally, guitarist and alumnus Nathan Longdon said Spring Sing stands out from other performances.
“Playing Spring Sing is more personal,” Longdon said. “Brent (Sinay) and I are alumni, so this is where we were working our craft and learning how to be musicians. Coming back … it’s almost like a pastoral kind of place for me.”
As the reigning band category winners, members of thatwasthen said they chose this year’s song for its driving three-word chorus with the intention to get the crowd on its feet.
“We want to entertain the hell out of (the audience). That’s the main goal,” said Nick Papageorge, lead guitarist and fourth-year English student. “That’s the magic of music ““ when people are compelled to move.”
For hip-hop meets rock band no insurance, auditioning for Spring Sing came with a strategy: forgoing explicit lyrics for catchy ones.
“We chose our most poppy one,” said Jordan Calhoun, fifth-year sociology student and guitarist and vocalist. “Spring Sing has a certain sound they seem to be going for, so we knew this song would give us our best shot.”
Calhoun said the band thrives on audience energy and even caused an apartment ceiling to crack following its latest Midvale Sessions show due to the crowd’s jumping.
“That’s where the whole rock and hip-hop mentality comes in. … The (genres) are very personable,” Calhoun said. “We just like going crazy. What’s the point of playing if you’re not having fun?”
The same philosophy on fun holds true for funk-influenced band Fusion, which formed on the premise of providing an outlet for musicians who weren’t necessarily music students.
Though the band has been a student group for several years and has played in campus concerts and at Dance Marathon, this will be its first time competing in Spring Sing together.
“We’re a huge band and we like to play really fun, upbeat music, like funk,” said Lily Stern, vocalist and fourth-year psychobiology student. “We wanted to do something that got people dancing.”
Fusion’s nine performers play instruments ranging from saxophones and piano to drums and guitar, avoiding using two of any instrument. David Ross, trumpet player and and third-year mechanical engineering student, said this strategy is something that also avoids muddling their sound.
Stern said she hopes the audience will relate to her song, which she wrote over winter break after reconnecting with fellow high school classmates who once made her feel insecure. She said the song, though personal, has made her the subject of playful teasing within the band.
“They make fun of me and say, “˜It’s about Lily being awkward in high school.’ So we’ve been joking about me wearing my prom dress for the show ““ we’ll see,” Stern said.
Members of the band Note Factory, who chose their name based on the size of their 15-member ensemble, began with a group of friends from the jazz department. Saxophonist Miles Freeman and keyboardist Julian Le, both third-year ethnomusicology students, said that while they had played with their friends in different groups, they wanted to compile a band specifically for Spring Sing.
“We thought 15 people ““ let’s just invite all of our friends,” Le said. “And they all happen to be good musicians, so it worked out fine.”
After deciding to include a horn section, Freeman said the group wanted to have a pop aspect but also said it would be an opportunity to expose people to the jazz side of pop, which it set to lyrics partially inspired by a friend’s heartbreak.
Band trio Rapture City took local night life as inspiration while writing its Spring Sing music, which infuses ambient sound with jazz and hip-hop influences. Carlo Paredes, fourth-year electrical engineering student, vocal percussionist and digital live looper, said their song reflects both the contemplativeness of the night and the excitement of going out into the night.
Alumnus Arkae Tuazon, vocalist, keyboardist and live sampler, said he used visual imagery while writing the music.
“I’ve lived in Los Angeles for five years. Carlo has lived here his whole life, so sights become memories and you can access those memories,” Tuazon said. “When I was writing the music, all I could think about was driving down Sunset (Boulevard) at 4 a.m.”
One distinguishing element of the band is Paredes’ beatboxing, which he said he uses to reflect the visual imagery of their song by alternating tempos to capture the mood.
“I want (audiences) to feel something. I want them to be looking at their program or talking to their buddy, and when they hear that first chord, make that face (and say), “˜What?’ and look up. Hopefully that’ll hook them into the rest of the experience,” Tuazon said.
