Play That Funky Music

It is a Wednesday night at Club Passim, and Jessica T. Tardy '99, a redhead with a voice that is both smoky and smooth as butter, is passing on some practical tips about the music business.

In a couple of hours, she will perform in a student showcase along with singer-songwriters Ashley L. Filip '01 and Noam I. Weinstein '99.

For now, she tells the story of how a girl who is almost always mute in section has become an accomplished vocalist with plans to sing professionally after graduation.

Her basic game plan is simple--sing and sing some more. Tardy tries to take advantage of any opportunity to sing, especially opportunities to sing before an audience.

For example, she sang the national anthem at every Harvard home wrestling game last year. A self-described "gig Crasher," Tardy advises prospective signer to ask if they can sing with the band at parties and to always have a demo tape on hand.

Most of Tardy's Vocal experience has been extracurricular. She attended a summer camp to learn about country music. In her home town of Palmyra, Maine, Tardy frequently attended talent nights - "whether it meant singing Garth Brooks, Whitney Houston or the national anthem."

Despite her extensive experience--she has performed locally at the Cantab Lounge and the House of Blues gospel brunch--Tardy still gets nervous before performance.

"My stomach is starting to get queasy," she announced shortly before her set, and left to warm up. Before every performance she warms up by singing her old standard, the national anthem.

The Harvard students performing at passim tonight are exceptionally talented and exceptionally soulful.

Filip's songs are about the pains of growing up. In one, she adopts the voice of Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. Awaiting the tornado of adulthood, she sings, "I'm not sure I’ am ready to go."

Weinstein struggles through technical difficulties during his performance. As the sound system crackles obnoxiously, he declares to the audience, "It gets to a certain points and you decide to give it up."

When the problem is finally taken care of, Weinstein proves that he is a veteran performer.

He does a fast-forward rendition of the song's last verse-it is folk-singing on speed that brings the crowd back laughing.

Like Tardy, Filip and Weinstein, many Harvard students seek out opportunities to perform outside of extracurricular organizations, Instead of the traditional a cappella groups and orchestras, they play independently--a task they say Harvard makes difficult compared to other schools. Despite the obstacles, though, these musicians have sought out or created local opportunities to perform.

Andrew C. Eggers '99, and Tyler G. Wood '01, a drummer and keyboardist, accompanied Tardy at Passim. In addition, the two are in a hip-hop group named BSide, which is also composed of Chiqui O. Matthew '00, Scott W. Roy '98-'99 and Benjamin Epstein.

On February 25, BSide performed in showcase at the Middle East produced by Ocean Group Productions, a company founded last spring by Alvin L. McCottry '00. McCottry has also managed the Boston alternative rock band pistola since last summer.

Pierce Woodward '99, a singer-song writer, attended the BSide event. Woodward, says he has made $8 to $9 per hour playing in the Harvard Square T-station. Recently he began playing with a band for the first time.

His partners will be Eggrs and Roy. The two could really use Woodward's help--Roy says he has only made $2 to $3 per hour playing in Harvard Square, but says the difference is due to the fact that Woodward may be "cuter."

For many of these students, music is not a passing phase. The have toiled to make a name at Harvard, and will use their skills to make a living. While many of their peers will enter I-banking or medical school, they will be musicians.

Next year, Woodward plans to move to New York City, Where he will continue to play music, as well as start an independent record label with his roommate, Mateo C. Jaramillo '99.

"I'm going to give it a couple of years at least," Woodward says. "My sister did the peace Corps--I think of this as the arts corps."

Tardy plans to move to Nashville at the end of the year to pursue a career in singing.

A combination of daring--"I'm not afraid to be extremely poor for a while," Tardy says--and a willingness to take jobs that simply pay the bills characterizes Tardy's approach to her intended career.

"I get annoyed with the whole `don't sell out thing," Tardy says. "I aspire to be a lounge singer, baby."

Filip, like McCottry, plans to make a career in music management. "To be a musician full time is really, really hard work," she says.

Other musicians, though, are uncertain that they want to live the life of a starving artist. Roy, who graduated last semester and is currently a teaching fellow of a Harvard electronics course, say, "I could go make a million dollars at Goldman schs...[so] there is a certain degree to which music is always challenged by sparkly opportunities,"

Though they are hopeful that their music may someday bring them fame and fortune, the musiciance say they are enjoying Harvard's dynamic Community.

"I feel extremely lucky to have met so many wonderful musicians here. the kicker is that the vast majority of them are wonderful human beings," Weinstein say in an e-mail message. "Many even went out of their way to welcome new players and introduce them to the various musical communities."

Musicians say that music scene outside of the traditional extracurricular groups has many benefits, and suits their style.

Wood, BSide's a keyboardist, says that although he was a members of the Harvard Jazz Band last year, his participation in independent projects has increased his opportunities to play.

"I only played two major concerts with that group--the whole reason I play music is to perform in front of people," Wood says.

Eggers says participating in independent projects has allowed him to maintain his "Creative freedom."

Matthew, BSide, rapper, says he values the group's fluid, in-the-moment performance style.

"We're all improvising at different times in the set," he says. "We feed off each other."

Despite these benefits, the musicians say that, as in many spheres of campus life, they could benefits from increased support.

Outside of the Corps

Musicians say the on-campus music scene is stunted because Harvard, unlike many other college, does not pay student bands to perform.

"The scene here is terms of a supportive musical network is one of the worst I've experienced, and I think it has to do with the administration's attitude," says Tyler Gibbons '99, who plays in the Humming, a band he and several friends started in junior High.

Despite the adversity, Gibbons has managed to play over 250 performances since he's been at Harvard by seeking out opportunities at other schools.

The band-which travels three out of four weekends in a van they own-has played at Amherst, the University of New Hampshire, Haverford, and clubs like the Basements, in Portland, Maine.

John Thomasson, former member of the class of 1999 who now plays in the Humming, agrees.

"Here, there’s no obvious space and there's no money for bringing in bands," Thomasson says. "You can't even get honorariums here."

Thomasson and Gibbons say other schools often pay between $400 and $1,000 per performance, Last fall, the Humming played to the University of New Hampshire’s solarfest, an all-day event sponsored by an environmental organization. They were paid $500 for a 45-minute set, as were nine other bands.

Eggers says a student group at Tufts paid BSide $300 to play at a poetry reading . "I feel that there are no groups here that are so well funded that they would pay for musicians," Eggers says.

Weinstein says Harvard administrators may be less interested in funding student performances because of the College's urban location.

"I think Harvard's philosophy towards on-campus performance is based partly on notion that students have access to the city's nightlife, which is largely valid except for the problems of unrealistic academic workloads and 21-plus clubs--considerable exceptions," Weinstein says in an e-mail message.

Gibbons, however, says Brown University, which is located in urban Providence R.I., supports a student nightclub called "The underground," which features funk, jazz, and rock music, as well as alcohol for those over 21.

Harvard does have opportunities for musicians to get started, even it they don't draw the big dollars and crowds.

Woodward started by playing in the Dunster Cafe, which features a weekly showcase of independent musicians, and Loker Commons.

"To go straight into the Boston Scene would be tough," Woodward says. "Any body who has the will to play in public can definitely do that here."

Striking a Chord

The musicians say the pressure of Harvard life can also interfere with their endeavors.

"It's really hard because Harvard college takes up so much of your life," Filip says.

Tardy says the balancing act requires trade-offs.

"You have to sacrifice some things, sacrifice the GPA," she says.

Using a little ingenuity, however, musicians have made performance pay off for their academic lives.

"I often try to kill two birds with one stone--for example, composing songs about midterm review sessions, or typing response papers on my guitar's word-processor," Weinstein says in an e-mail message.

Tardy, a Folklore and Mythology concentrator, is writing a thesis on voodoo and classical blues lyrics.

Gibbons, an English concentrator, has designed an independent study class on the role of religion in folk lyrics.

They have made the music scene important to all parts of their lives. These students are committed to an extracurricular that is by nature marginalized. Yet, they pursue music because they love it, not necessarily because it enhances their resume or degree.

At BSide's recent performance, they asked the audience to join in and feel their vibe.

"Say yes...yes...yes...yes...yes," Matthew rapped, along with the crowd. In the audience, Harvard students, with their papers and reading a mile away, couldn't have been happier.