Prototypical rock groups don’t exist, but if they did,
these guys wouldn’t be one.
Three pole vaulters, two football players, and a spiky haired
kid with a cow bell are not exactly the model for rock
‘n’ roll stardom, even by small-time garage band
standards.
But UCLA pole vaulter Shane Hackett and his bandmates in the
group Everyone’s Fantasy believe they have discovered the
formula for success.
“We’re not looking to become rock stars,” said
Hackett, a junior. “If the band goes somewhere, it goes
somewhere, but for now, we’re just having fun jamming
together.”
Founded less than three months ago, Everyone’s Fantasy is
an alternative rock group comprised of Hackett, fellow Bruin pole
vaulters Michael Landers and Dave Murphy, tight end J.J. Hair, and
cornerback Joe Garcia.
The band’s birth can be traced back to the indoor track
and field season when Landers, who often brought his bass guitar on
the road with him, would play riffs late at night in his hotel room
while Hackett wrote words for them.
Neither Hackett nor Landers put much stock in these late-night
jam sessions until they met Hair at a party during winter quarter.
The 6-foot-5, 245-pound Hair was on stage playing his guitar when
they arrived, and Hackett immediately joined him and decided to
sing along.
“That was our first performance,” said Hackett, the
group’s lead singer and songwriter.
“Then we added Joe, who plays lead guitar, and Dave to
play the drums for us. Pretty soon we had a real band.”
Well, all except for a name.
That came courtesy of Hair, who had played in an air guitar band
at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo. The group had
jokingly called itself Everyone’s Fantasy. Hair
semi-facetiously suggested the moniker to his current bandmates,
and it stuck almost immediately.
“We’re decent-looking guys,” Hair said,
“so why not?”
With so many inexperienced musicians, the band is still carving
out its niche. Right now it plays everything from original hard
rock songs to Green Day covers, and Hackett said they plan on
expanding their repertoire even further.
The group practices several times each week and has a pair of
gigs lined up for later this month. It has played two small shows
already, each time drawing crowds of roughly 100 people, many of
whom were fellow UCLA athletes.
“They come up to us, and tell us they like our
music,” Hackett said. “Sometimes even we can’t
believe it.”
All five athletes say music has provided them with a release
from the intense pressure of NCAA Division I sports. Although
finding time to practice while fulfilling their academic and
athletic responsibilities hasn’t always been easy, each
member believes they’re better off with a jam-packed
schedule.
“Playing music keeps us sane,” said Hair.
“It’s as if we get our checks on the field, and our
kicks on stage.”
Forming the band apparently hasn’t been detrimental to any
of them so far, either on the gridiron or in the pole-vaulting
pit.
Hair and Garcia continue to challenge for playing time at their
respective positions during spring football practice, while
Landers, Hackett and Murphy have each recently surpassed personal
records during the outdoor season.
Comparing pole vaulting and performing live, each vaulter agreed
both were exhilarating, but in different ways.
And comparing music to football?
“Nobody’s out to hurt me when I’m on
stage,” Hair said.
None of the band members appears to be overly concerned with
what Everyone’s Fantasy ultimately becomes, as long as they
all enjoy themselves in the process.
“All I know is that first show we played was one of the
most insanely fun things I’ve ever done in my life,”
Landers said. “We’re just trying to have a good
time.”