Every year, Spring Sing promises the UCLA population a menu of performers as diverse as they are talented.
And Friday, Lily Stern and her band will be contributing to the diversity with what the second-year psychobiology student dubs a “folky pop jazzy soul” performance.
“I’m not sure how to pinpoint the sound,” Stern said as she tried to categorize her piece. “My brother likes to call it organic pop. I guess it’s kind of poppy, but there are definitely jazz influences with a little soul and funk.”
Inspired by last year’s show, Stern got a group of friends and family together to form the Lily Stern Band and begin rehearsing a piece she wrote in high school.
“I originally went to Spring Sing last year and was blown out of the water,” Stern said, “I thought it was one of the best productions I had ever seen, and in the fall I said, “˜You know what? I’m going to do this.'”
The inspiration for the piece came from a relationship Stern had her sophomore year of high school, which was never able to grow to what she, or the other party involved, had hoped.
“The song is called “˜The Look.’ There was this guy I guess I was seeing, but there were some difficult circumstances,” Stern said. “Everything was perfect, but we just couldn’t be together, but we still had the look. You know, when you exchange glances.”
The band, which came together in January, includes Stern on guitar and vocals, as well as her brother, Adam Stern, a 2006 UCLA graduate with a degree in world arts and cultures on percussion and harmonies, and friends Zubin Davar, a fourth-year global studies student, on drums, and Josh Taddeo, a fourth-year ethnomusicology student, on bass.
“I’m most excited to play in Pauley in front of so many people,” Stern said. “People ask me, “˜Well what about the competition?’ and I just say, “˜I don’t care, I just want to play, I just want to do my thing.'”
Stern is looking forward to the performance with more excitement than nervousness, as playing in front of a large audience is something she has experienced in the past, albeit only once.
“I played with another band at Dance Marathon around midnight,” Stern said, “Everyone was there: the dancers, the moralers ““ it was unbelievable. It got me so pumped.”
Doing her thing, as appealing as it may be, isn’t the only draw for Stern.
“I can’t imagine what it’ll be like, and then on top of it meeting Julie Andrews and the other celebrity judges,” Stern said.
Stern’s influences are as diverse as her sound, and include artists like James Taylor as well as others like Michael Jackson, having a preference for music that is “more melodic.”
The Lily Stern Band is one of the smaller groups performing at Spring Sing this year.
Aside from their size, the band also represents the work of one artist ““ Stern ““ as opposed to other bands that represent a larger collaboration among the entire band. While the other band members contribute during rehearsals, the majority of the material comes from Stern.
“The harmonies and the lyrics really set us apart,” Stern said. “It’s a very catchy, heartfelt song. I meant every word I put into it. The harmonies are clutch ““ my brother did an awesome job with that. Our sound isn’t really fast, but it’s not too slow either. It’s grooving, in the pocket, it hits right where you want it to.”
Aside from music, Stern finds herself involved in a number of different interests, which keeps with the pattern of diversity she has formed, with her music, her influences and other areas.
Stern dedicates large amounts of time to her schoolwork, which is something she has naturally landed, but she also enjoys studies of a different variety.
“I have two completely different sides to me,” Stern said. “I have this very natural inclination toward the sciences, but on the other hand, I’m very much interested in the arts and culture.”
Beyond academics, Stern gives her time to multiple charity organizations, including serving as president of Challah for Hunger, of which she was one of the first participants here at UCLA. The organization bakes challah, a traditional Jewish bread, and sells it on Bruin Walk on Friday mornings, donating all proceeds to support victims of the genocide in Darfur.
On Friday night in Pauley Pavilion, Lily Stern will try to convey the notion not to confine oneself to a single thing, as she sings and strums her “organic pop” sound for UCLA.