Almost Famous
It’s not often that Harvard students go to South Boston back alleys to try and make their dreams come true. But, unlike i-banking, the Office of Career Services doesn’t hold info sessions on “How to be a Rock Star.”
This past spring, members of Harvard hip hop group Tha League shot footage for a video of their original song, “Stop Stop.” They take their music very seriously and their eyes are focused on the future—one that they envision as filled with platinum albums, red carpets and adoring fans.
Though these wannabe pop stars know that their aspirations run contrary to the Harvard stereotype, they say that their background gives them a certain savvy. “Harvard certainly helps you walk into a situation with more confidence,” says Jonathan R. Ardrey ’05, executive producer and overseer for Harvard hip hop act Tha League. Regardless, as members of both Tha League and Chester French, another up-and-coming Harvard rock act, will tell you, the Mass. Ave. road to success is riddled with potholes, clumsy pedestrians, and rotary circles. FM spent its week hanging pit with Harvard students who want to make music—and make it.
Style and Image
They may be young and ambitious, but these up-and-comers are not your father’s garage bands. They pay almost as much attention to style, image and self-promotion as they do to jamming.
Chester French — Damien S. Chazelle ’07 on drums, Justin G. Hurwitz ’07 on keys, Mike W. Judge ’07 on bass, David Andrew “D.A” Wallach ’07 on vocals and Max C. Drummey ’07 on guitar —began with a jazzy sound because of their background and training. But they soon began hunting for the sound that would make them unique—and hopefully famous. Wallach explains that the group tried different musical styles, including a fusion of jazz and hip hop, before settling on their current (and, he says, permanent) sound. Wallach’s discovery of lost 1950’s recordings of British soul—what Wallach terms an “organic rock precursor to the Beatles”—inspired the band’s trademark “gentleman rock.” And although they want to keep this gentlemanly image intact through an impeccable fashion sense—they’d rather never make it than be caught performing without suits on—they say they’re careful not to seem “too precious.”
In addition to experimenting with different musical styles, they also toyed with a few self-consciously hip names, including Mungo Park and The Sunday Clientele, before finally settling on Chester French. The name pays homage to sculptor Daniel Chester French, famous for the Lincoln Memorial and the John Harvard statue. They settled on the name while eating in Annenberg Dining Hall.
They then set about creating an image for their new name. Though dressed in a Lacoste sweater, Merrell slip-ons and his trademark sweatband, Wallach endorses E-Bay as the source of his Saville Row suits. Despite a seemingly high-priced aesthetic, the group explains that “You can only hate a gentleman who looks down on you.” Consequently, they strive to be as inclusive as possible with their music. “We don’t intend to alienate any anti-gentleman types,” Wallach says. “The same goes for gentleman types. We aren’t trying to alienate people that aren’t into the suit look, nor are we trying to make a statement against it.”
But other Harvard groups don’t shy away from making statements—and it’s earning them fans. “The most intelligent ignorance” is how M.C. Brandon M. Terry ’05 describes the vocals he brings to Tha League, which mixes irreverent humor and serious social dialogue. Tha League, comprised of vocalists Nick H. Barnes ’05, Dominique C. Deleon ’04, Kwame Owusu-Kesse ’06 and Terry, has entered the hunt for success. It is banking on its “extended family” vibe—what they explain as the fact that each member brings his own unique style to the stage.
Terry suggests that their success is due to “people wanting to hear something different.” Barnes describes himself as a “dance hall reggae artist,” not to be confused with many crossover reggae artists currently dominating the charts (he’s quick to define himself as “not Sean Paul-ish”), while Owusu-Kesse describes his trademark as his “cool, smooth deliverance.” Terry’s niche is an animated delivery of what Deleon describes as the “most controversial [of the group]—the perfect cross between black consciousness and black comedy.” Similarly, Deleon uses a self-described “illogical style” with which he intends to push the boundaries of accepted hip hop conventions.
Both Chester French and Tha League combine their focus on originality with a fervent desire for commercial success.
Moving and Shaking
Though groups revel in the excitement of creativity and performance, they remain on their collective toes when it comes to the business of making music, Wallach concedes that the record industry views “artists as commodities,” and that “only 3-5% of all major record label records make a profit each year.” However, the lead singer is confident that the band can succeed if they push hard now to combine “high quality music with public acceptance.” The group aggressively promotes its website, www.chesterfrench.com, and plans on freely distributing a seven song EP (tentatively scheduled to be out by reading period). They’re all but desperate to expose their music to a wider market, but their biggest promotional technique is their live shows. On stage, Chester French welcomes the chance to break out of the gentlemanly mold they have created for themselves and “rock out” in a more spontaneous way.
In their performances, Tha League’s principal goal is “to have fun and entertain people.” In addition to rapping, they perform small onstage skits to involve the audience.
The campus music industry scene extends beyond performers. Veritas Records, an official student group, is slated to release its first album, a collection of songs by Harvard groups (including Tha League), with a May 6 CD release party at Boston’s Roxy Club featuring The States, Amy Zelcer, The Modern Music Collective and other groups on the compilation.
Veritas founder and president Dan J. Zaccagnino ’05 is a musician himself and has experience working for Blue Note Record Company, the Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Records and music lawyers. He says that these experiences have taught him that many perfectly talented bands lack the practical knowledge needed for industry success. Among other things, Veritas offers help to groups who might lack the resources to promote themselves.
From a business perspective, Zaccagnino views the Harvard name as a plus, noting that “businesses want to deal with more intelligent musicians” as opposed to those who have no real conception as to how the economics of the system works. Zaccagnino says he’s found that, contrary to myth, labels do care about their artists’ long term careers, but just can’t afford bands that don’t bring in the bucks.
Other students take an interest in the business side of music. Jack P. McCambridge ’06 manages Call the Cops. Because of his extensive work with student bands, the Undergraudate Council (UC) Campus Life Committee and the UC Concert Commission, McCambridge is well-schooled in the dynamics of live shows and knows the complex hierarchy of Boston-area venues. With each successful (read: crowd-drawing) performance, a band can proceed to a better locale and time slot. McCambridge believes in “ponying up ahead of time.” A band with a manager, he says, will seem more professional and serious to booking agents. And self-promotion doesn’t stop with hiring a manager; the band has to sell itself, literally, through merchandise, which is expensive but important in conveying a band’s importance. Call the Cops has invested in 1000 copies of its professionally printed Lost Her Anyways EP, as well as lighters emblazoned with the band’s website, www.callthecopsmu-sic.com. And yet, despite his best efforts, McCambridge still finds himself “invariably” frustrated by bureaucratic hoops.
Several campus groups consider themselves fortunate to have corporate endorsements. Veritas Records has entered into a partnership with Adidas Originals, whose Harvard Square store opens on April 24th. In looking for student bands to perform at their opening, Adidas Originals turned to Veritas. To sweeten the deal, the store donated a number of old-school inspired T-shirts and track jackets to the organization.
Tha League credits the opportunity of their recent video shoot to New York directors Joshua M. Clark and Aaron S. Weber, as well as Ardrey, who DeLeon says has “potential to be the next Clive Davis.” Deleon says that they did not have to pay for the shoot and that “The video would not have been possible without them.” Tha League plans to market themselves to all music video channels.
Down the Line?
For now, both groups have scored large performances this coming weekend—Tha League is opening for Busta Rhymes and Chester French will appear at Springfest. While both groups remain enthusiastic about a post-college future in an uncertain music industry, for now they are content balancing the rigors of life as Harvard undergraduates with aspirations of mainstream musical success. “In a few years, it will be a huge privilege that FM got to see us in our formative stages,” Wallach jokes.