Nestled in the courtyard of Fowler Museum, fourth-year ethnomusicology student Cameron Hovsepian strummed the strings of his guitar in an impromptu and unplugged music session. This scene was in preparation for a photoshoot for the upcoming Fowler Out Loud season.
While Hovsepian remains no stranger to UCLA’s music scene, the brief musical interlude was enough to give his small audience a taste of what he is planning to play in his upcoming performance at the Fowler Museum.
UCLA ethnomusicology alumnus Jake Jamieson will accompany Hovsepian on percussion and drums for the performance.
“The music is kind of a mix, a little (bit) of soul, a little bit of blues, a little bit of funk,” Jamieson said.
Hovsepian’s musical inclination began when he was a young boy, writing songs with no vocalist to perform with him. When no singer emerged to vocalize his melodies, he picked up the mic himself. Since then, Hovsepian has released his EP “Tonight at Noon,” sung for students at Kerckhoff Coffee House and, this past school year, performed in front of thousands of Bruins at one of UCLA’s largest musical productions, Spring Sing.
“When you do Spring Sing, everyone is watching everything you do … whereas Kerckhoff … you can just get away with so much, you can go longer on these chords, you can make up verses if you want. It lets you try stuff out. … Fowler is somewhere in between, where you make a cleaner, more organized show,” Hovsepian said.
According to Jamieson, the words to Hovsepian’s musical mash-up of genres are drawn from his own personal experiences.
“He’s got a great voice with a lot of character and he’s got lyrics to match, which is speaking from personal experience about a lot of interesting things. His lyrics are definitely poetic and the music is fun and upbeat,” Jamieson said.
The personal atmosphere of Fowler is also attractive to Hovsepian, who said performing at the museum space will be a chance to personalize his upcoming set.
“It’s really intimate, so I’ll be glad that I’ll be able to take my time. I like talking about songs that I write and how songs come about, and if you’re playing at a coffee shop with all this noise, no one really cares, but they’re forced to listen to me,” Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian said he looks forward to performing in a more personal environment.
“You can still fit 100 and something people, and it’ll still feel intimate,” Hovsepian said.
Hovsepian’s ability to capture an audience based on his simple and natural approach is what sets him apart from his counterparts, said Sara Stranovsky, coordinator of Fowler Out Loud, recalling the earlier photo shoot with Hovsepian.
“He’s got the kind of hook ability, kind of the acoustic rock stuff. I say “˜hook’ like in terms of catchy and upbeat … but he’s also got his own heartfelt lyrics, his own style as well. He’s got an ability to be playful,” Stranovsky said.
According to Stranovsky, Hovsepian’s vocal talents focus more on the simplicity in his rhythm rather than an extravagant style.
“There’s something more about sharing than flashy performing. … I think he has a natural calm to his performing,” Stranovsky said.
Jamieson, who has both performed and recorded with Hovsepian in the past, said their friendship is an additional element of their musical set that makes performing easier.
“He’s great to play with musically because he’s such a funny guy. … He’s got a great sense of humor. … We’re friends first and foremost. … It’s just natural to play music because we get along,” Jamieson said.
Stranovsky said Hovsepian’s audience will experience an intimate feeling because of Hovsepian’s organic and sincere performance style.
“I think there’s something personal about the way that he performs, I kind of feel that it’s the vibe as if you’re … sitting around a camp fire … just sharing something kind of naturally beautiful, so I think that’s what the audience can expect, although unfortunately there is no campfire,” Stranovsky said.