Bruins learn from their own “˜Internship’

Most UCLA students would not choose to spend their Friday nights in a parking garage. Yet from midnight to 3 a.m., there is no place that the five members of The Internship would rather be. Huddled around a table on the Kerckhoff patio as they tease each other about the past night’s antics, nothing would give them away as a band that rocks the basement of Parking Lot 7, practicing when they should be sleeping.

“In college, everyone’s trying to get an internship to build their futures. But we’re into music, so in a way, this band is our own internship,” said Kyle Graycar, a second-year environmental science student.

Tonight, The Internship is performing at Kerckhoff Coffee House as part of the Cultural Affairs Commission’s weekly concert series, along with another student band called Owl Fly South.

The five bandmates are connected through a somewhat complex web of family ties, high school friends and roommates. Bassist Graycar and the other bassist and guitarist Kyle Kuwatani, a second-year physics student, were friends in high school, where they planned on starting a band together at UCLA.

Kuwatani and guitarist Matt Mizono, a fifth-year psychobiology student, are cousins and have played music together since they were children. Additionally, Graycar and Daily Bruin copy editor and fellow band member Moses Sumney were suitemates in Rieber Terrace, and drummer Julian Palau and Kuwatani were floormates.

The Internship came together as a band in the spring of 2011. Mizono said the solidifying moment came over spring break, when the group played a riff from its original song, “She Lights” for nearly an hour in Graycar’s garage on Manzanita Street in the Bay Area.

“We wrote songs and got to know each other, but it was more than that. It was a mesmerizing moment. We turned our separate journeys to (Northern California) into a cohesive reflection on us as a whole ““ that’s really when we became a band,” Mizono said. This experience also inspired the name for the band’s first EP: “Manzanita.”

Palau described The Internship’s sound as alternative indie rock, infused with elements of folk, soul and pop music. He said that it is difficult to categorize, however, because the band’s sound is constantly in motion.

Mizono also said that he strives to write the kind of song that a listener could play over and over again.

“I connect with songs that slow the movement of time. It’s that “˜ahh’ moment. There’s no definition for it, but when you hear that song, it puts you somewhere. That’s what we want to create,” Mizono said.

According to Mizono, the band’s different musical backgrounds contribute to its current sound. Folk groups such as the Norwegian group Kings of Convenience influence Mizono’s style, while Palau said he grew up listening to punk rock. Kuwatani and Graycar said they both listened to a lot of classic rock together in high school, which then progressed into an appreciation for indie music.

“We’re not music majors, but we have a young, fun energy associated with our music to make up for it. We’re all such good friends; you can really hear it in our music,” Graycar said.

Mizono said that he believes every song should have a message or memory behind it.

“I think it’s amazing the way music can transport you. I had Sumney write me a song the day I broke up with my girlfriend. I played it for hours that night and every time I hear it, it puts me back. That’s what music should be. It should evoke the emotion of a moment,” Mizono said.

According to Kuwatani, The Internship’s recent shows around UCLA ““ it competed in Mighty Mic’s Battle of the Bands on Wednesday ““ have taught the group that success relies on more than just practice.

“Practice doesn’t matter as much as vibing with your band. I thought I understood how music works, but now I don’t get it. It doesn’t make sense that having one good day together, rather than practicing, could produce something so beautiful,” Kuwatani said.

Whether it’s on stage or in the basement of Parking Lot 7, Kuwatani said that The Internship just wants to play some music.