Category Archives: Music

BUTR channels longtime bonds into cathartic song about coping with college stress

Plenty of students discuss the stresses of college life in the comfort of their dorm rooms. But BUTR will bring their concerns to the Pauley Pavilion stage for the annual Spring Sing competition. Lead singer and fourth-year psychology student Jada Banks-Mace said the eight-person band’s style can be defined as alternative R&B with jazz roots, […]

Dark Dazey’s spontaneous creation of music invites elements of chaos, freedom

Dark Dazey’s fluctuating band roster reflects the fluidity of the group’s performance, said fourth-year ecology and evolutionary biology student Cole Heramb. The psychedelic pop-rock band will perform its original song, “Swooning Moon Tune,” at the 2019 Spring Sing competition. Dark Dazey frontman Cole Heramb said bands like Pink Floyd and Arctic Monkeys heavily influenced its […]

Seven-member band TAXI to bring upbeat funk and jazzy improv to competition’s coda

Michael Penny went from playing Guitar Hero to owning his first electric guitar at 10 years old. Penny, a fourth-year classical civilization student, will perform his first ever gig at Spring Sing as a member of the funk, jazz and rock band TAXI. The seven-member group also includes lead singer Nick Nikoian, who wrote the […]

Multifaceted production group represents major confluence of inspiration sources

Ram Eshwar Kaundinya said he has no intention of competing at Spring Sing. Fourth-year cognitive science student Kaundinya will play percussion instruments alongside other members of Confluence – a group consisting of four more musicians and a tap dancer. While most Spring Sing acts exclusively feature either musicians or dancers, Confluence merges both the event’s […]

Second Take: With ‘Old Town Road’ the memes have won, but music quality has lost

Collaborations can do a lot for a track. For some artists, they add credibility; for others, diversity. For Lil Nas X, it created a record-breaking cultural phenomenon. Currently in its sixth week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus broke the one-week streaming […]

Dan Navarro discusses growth in music career starting with his time at UCLA

Dan Navarro, a UCLA alumnus, returned to campus in 2005 for a guest appearance after kicking off his music career. At the end of the class, students formed a line that stretched to the back door of the lecture hall waiting to talk to him, said Peter Rutenberg, Navarro’s longtime friend. Over the course of […]