An air of excitement streamed throughout the cramped wooden stairs of the Bulkeley House Saloon on Thursday, April 16. It poured over the crowd in swift, steady waves. The tight quarters on the 2nd floor of the bar, better known as Tiki, suggested there might be a reason that 111 Bank St. on this night was garnering such significant numbers.
Looking around, I could imagine numerous possibilities that explained why each member of the growing stream was there. Maybe they needed a break from the academic rigor of April, or maybe they just wanted a night off with friends.
However, when the dimmed lights suddenly flared up and revealed to the crowd the previously silhouetted figures on stage, I knew there was a common purpose for every student’s presence: Montreal Protocol.
Despite not being able to hear the music within the first five minutes due to the uproar of the crowd, Montreal Protocol gave another stellar performance by doing what they do best: playing music.
Covering a variety of classic hits and performing a few originals of their own, MP made sure that no dull moments undermined their time on stage. But such turnouts should come as no surprise to the band of five (Tim Flannery ’16, Drew Andre ’16, Sam McKeowin ’17, Luke Graves ’16 and Joe Donoghue ’16).
There seems to be something unique about Montreal Protocol that extends beyond the black and white aspects of their makeup, an intangible chemistry that can only be understood when observing the band without the lights, music and screaming crowds.
“We are stupid,” says Graves, drummer and a junior at the College. “We drink together, we party together. We are friends.” This sort of camaraderie within the band is evident, but the strong social bonds within Montreal Protocol are born of the incredible effort they put into their music.
“Behind every show, there are probably 20 hours of work put in by each member of the band,” Luke emphasizes, leaning forward in his seat, “It’s our work and our friendships that contribute to the non-verbal communication that people are seeing on stage.”
Luke went on to describe how Montreal Protocol’s time together has always been about the mutual enjoyment of music, but this didn’t mean they were always natural performers.
“We were bad” he reiterates, a slight smile on his face preparing me for the tale of how Montreal Protocol got their humble start. “I remember I was on the second floor of Jane Addams my freshman year. I heard a couple of kids playing some songs in a dorm down the hall and I just went in and introduced myself.”
The people jamming in that second floor dorm room were Drew Andre and Tim Flannery, two fellow juniors and current band members today. Yet, little did Luke, Tim or Drew know that this casual interaction was the beginning of something that would come to fill their lives in the coming years. Still, things did not take off immediately.
“You can’t rehearse in a dorm room,” says lead vocalist Drew Andre, laughing as he reminisces on those first shaky weeks in Montreal Protocol’s infancy. Drew explained to me how things developed very slowly for the band early on because they lacked the necessary space to nurture their creativity, which ultimately hampered their ability to grow.
It wasn’t until the band joined MOBROC that they began to further develop their abilities. Montreal Protocol gained access to “the Barn,” an old converted squash court behind Cro, where they could practice in a proper setting and even perform small shows.
“Having that space is so crucial,” Drew says, “It’s almost impossible to have the same learning experience without it.” To the band, the Barn was a safe environment where their musical talents grew unhindered. The space allowed them to explore the deeper complexities of the group and to find their own musical style.
“The ability to be in your own space and in your own heads collectively, you are able do things you can’t normally do alone.” The band sees this as crucial in propelling them to new technical heights which ultimately enhanced not only their music but also their stage presence and work ethic. Or as Drew puts it, “Now we jam until we can’t jam anymore.”
With this discipline toward their craft in place, Montreal Protocol has an optimistic view of things to come. “I think right now we are focusing on the live performance,” says Joe Donahue, who mans the sweet synthed rhythms of the band’s keyboard. “I think that Tiki set the groundwork for the near future. It didn’t really prove anything to us, but it showed to the audience that we could perform and perform well.”
Joe expressed excitement for the future, and said that Montreal Protocol will try and get off campus more often for live shows in the coming year. “We are going to try to get up into Boston and New Haven.”
However, even beyond next year when the band will face their final year at Connecticut College, Joe said that their commitment to Montreal Protocol is resolute. “We haven’t thought about stopping, we just want to do what we love and make it happen.” For Montreal Protocol, the act of getting together with friends to make music transcends the bonds of Campus life, a devotion that has marked the band as something special.
With a pensive look in his eye, Drew says “We don’t want to be forty-something at a reunion and talking about what we could’ve done different,” and I don’t believe they will. •
