The Columbia Records
striking a chord with three undergrad bands
CORRECTIONS APPENDED
From mandolins to magic, musical groups on campus are finding inspiration is some interesting places. While one particular group likely comes to mind when thinking of Columbia bands, there’s a fair amount of talented music makers currently here on the campus. They may represent disparate genres, but each of their approaches to music is all similarly the result of their band members’ extraordinary eclectic tastes. The Eye takes a look at three of these Columbia-based bands, Field Diver, the Kitchen Cabinet, and Wizards of the Coast. Play on.
Playing the Field
Field Diver is an all class of ‘11 outfit whose lineup currently includes Mike McKeever (vocals and guitar), Jonathan Schaller (bass), Eddie Kang (flute and keyboards) Kyle Sullivan (synthesizer and “programming electronics”), and Colin Ramsey (who is enrolled at the Manattan School of Music, percussion).
They grouped together out of a desire to “Write music to combine our influences and to have fun,” says McKeever. After forming last semester, they spent a few months rehearsing and debuted at Havana Central this past February.
“We use guitar, bass, and drums like a normal rock group but we also add strings, horns, and electronics to our sound,” says McKeever.
Citing Radiohead, Sigur Ros, and Aphex Twin as inspirations, as well as noting the influence of their own classical and jazz backgrounds, Field Diver describe their music as “alternative rock with experimental leanings.”
This aesthetic is reflected in their name, which they chose because they believe it represents both the range of musical influences they draw upon as well as the unique spin they have put on these influences
“‘Field’ suggests an open expanse and ‘diver’ relates to ideas of exploration,” explains McKeever.
...And the Kitchen Sink, too
The Kitchen Cabinet’s band name is attributed to Mike Molina, CC ‘10, who references Andrew Jackson’s advisory committee.
“If you remember your U.S. History, you’ll get the reference. I guess it’s appropriately nerdy for a Columbia band. We’ve been doing a bit of a history shtick in general, with our flyers and tee shirts, but I don’t think we get overly gimmicky. I mean, we’re not writing songs about dead presidents or Boss Tweed. At least, not yet,” jokes Ashraya Gupta, CC ‘09.
The Kitchen Cabinet is a folk band composed of Molina (banjo, guitar, occasional casiotone) and Gupta (guitar), as well as Rob Stenson, CC ’10 (drums), Anna Couturier CC ’10 (guitar, mandolin, lap steel) and Cindy Gooden CC ‘10 (guitar).
As for the genre with which the Kitchen Cabinet identifies, Molina finds the Bwog-appointed appellation of “twee folk” “kind of adorable,” and rather fitting given that they’re mostly acoustic, featuring instruments like the banjo and mandolin.
All of the members sing, but, at least according to Gupta, the girls “kinda dominate lead vocals.”
Despite this instrumental composition, Molina says they mostly play pop songs. And like Field Diver, they draw upon a range of influences.
“We all listen to different kinds of stuff. Anna grew up playing folk festivals and jams. Originally, I really wanted our band to sound like Fleetwood Mac. Rob agreed with me...I’m not sure that it happened, though. Mike writes little finger-picky ballads. Cindy’s a jazz bassist and really into Guided By Voices.”
Their confluence of styles has served them well, as they’ve been steadily booking gigs. After forming the group for last semester’s Beta Jam, they have since performed at the Alphabet Lounge, played two shows at ADP, tied for the win at the ESC Battle of the Bands, and are scheduled to perform at Postcrypt Coffeehouse, among other “tour” dates.
Musical Magic
The Wizards of the Coast, Jacob Brunner, CC ‘09, Sam Rosenthal CC ‘09, Justin Goncalves, CC ‘09, Parker Fishel, CC ‘10, and Alex Silva CC ‘10, certainly have put their magic to work when it comes to securing practice space. Over the last two weeks of winter break, they converted their suite into a recording suite, a resourcefulness which extended to the bathroom, where the location of a microphone in the shower elicited a complaint from one visitor. Now, they practice in their suite, starting around 8:30 p.m. and usually stopping when their RA breaks it up with noise complaints “around 11.”
Their cleverness is put to work not just in this capacity, but is noticeably at work when looking at the group’s name and self-appointed musical categorizations. On their Myspace page, they describe themselves as “psychdelic/metal/progressive.” In addition to these categories, they offer the term “drug pop,” “Harold and Kumar go to Ganondorf’s castle,” and, as Fishel puts it “spacey kids with too-big record collections.”
While they’ve only performed officially at Beta Jam this past January, they have a number of upcoming shows, including a show during Days on Campus, one at Sullivan Hall, another at WBAR BQ, and another at Piano’s.
And though this is a sizeable lineup, Goncalvez notes further successes have been impeded by the fact that “We just finished mixing the demos a couple of weeks ago, so we didn’t really have much to show booking dudes.”
As For the Wizards’ influences, they cite weed, metal and Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and attribute their name to Magic: The Gathering. Silva tempers the overall metal leaning of the group with his preference for jazz and a general “softer aesthetic sensibility.”
As Goncalves notes, the music-creating process is “very collaborative,” usually involving some sort of compromise. This attention to balance exhibits a dedication to the enterprise that shouldn’t be overshadowed by the band’s playful humor.
Brunner surmises “We do take the music seriously.” \\\
Corrections: Several class years were misstated in the original Web version of this article. Field Diver is comprised of members of the class of 2011; and Parker Fishel is CC ‘10. Additionally, The Kitchen Cabinet was the informal name for Andrew Jackson’s group of advisors, not Abraham Lincoln’s. The Eye deeply regrets these errors.