For the bands competing at this year’s Spring Sing, the definition of a great performance goes well beyond just getting up on stage and playing a song.
Members of thatwasthen, The Trees, Blue Wail and Girls are Robots are all about showmanship and stage presence.
From sing-alongs to light shows to special effects, there will certainly be no shortage of spectacles at Pauley Pavilion on Friday.
Over the years, Spring Sing attendees have come to expect top-notch talent at this special music event.
This year’s bands are well prepared to meet the challenge of impressing even the most critical audience members.
“If people want to hear music from a CD, they’ll just listen to the CD. We’re here to do more than that,” said Nathan Longdon, a 2008 musical theater alumnus and one of two guitarists for thatwasthen. “We actually want to put on a great show.”
Longdon and his bandmates have a strong desire to breathe new life into classic rock ‘n’ roll music. With influences like Led Zeppelin and Foo Fighters, thatwasthen exudes a retro vibe with a modern twist.
“We’re trying to take all the best stuff from classic rock and combine it with more modern, forward-looking music,” said Nick Papageorge, a third-year English student and guitarist.
“I feel like rock right now is being pulled in all sorts of different directions. We want to start a new movement,” Papageorge said.
Two out of the four competing bands ““ thatwasthen and The Trees ““ are comprised mostly of current theater students and theater graduates.
The theater program has given these students valuable onstage experience that easily carries over to music performance.
“We really know how to express ourselves,” Papageorge said. “We’re very passionate, and I think that comes through when we perform.”
Members of the eclectic group called The Trees describe their style as a mix of folk, psychedelic and gospel, but they also use their theater background to tell stories with their music.
This musical storytelling, coupled with a welcoming and inclusive vibe, is what The Trees feel really make them stand out.
“We’re a family band,” said Sam Gibbs, a fourth-year theater student. “We’re a part of a family with the audience. We are their crazy uncles and aunts, but with a lot more fire, and a lot more rioting.”
Indeed, The Trees describe their musical vibe as “a family riot.” They first began playing in a true family style, coming together in each others’ apartments and participating in extended jam sessions.
It wasn’t until recently that their jams spiraled into the formation of a cohesive band.
In fact, the group began calling themselves The Trees only when they were forced to list a band name on their Spring Sing application.
“After we officially said that we were a band on the sheet of paper for the application, we tried our best to actually be one,” said Zach “Zacki Mo Maze” Maze, a fourth-year theater student and member of The Trees.
“I think we were all on the same page of really wanting to make music as a band, but initially not having the organization to do it,” Maze said.
Blue Wail, the third competing band at this year’s show, formed last year specifically for Spring Sing.
Bassist and backup vocalist for the band, Eli Shkurkin, said the band’s sound is like the Grateful Dead’s, but a little bit faster and without the long jam sessions.
The band also adheres to a more traditional song structure.
“We’re pretty pork and beans, but we try to do it well,” said Shkurkin, a second-year philosophy student.
Shkurkin said that the band’s harmonies are what will make their performance stand out at the show.
The fourth band, Girls are Robots, have more of an electro-rock sound with a strong visual stage presence.
Brian Sumwalt, the drummer and one of the vocalists for the band, explains that there are multiple dimensions to their act.
“Rather than just a band playing music, the audience is getting a whole show ““ a performance and a scripted production,” said Sumwalt, a fourth-year East Asian studies student.
Girls are Robots pride themselves on having an edgy, electronic element that goes above and beyond the traditional band setup of the guitar, bass, drums and vocals.
The band has worked hard to sync up all the components of their show perfectly, and Sumwalt said he believes all the time spent preparing will pay off in the end.
“We’re nothing less than stoked,” Sumwalt said. “The closer the show gets, the more the buzz of performing grows. All those hours of dedication are indescribably worth it.”