I remember walking into Harris the day SAC announced the Floralia line-up. I also remember walking right under the giant, colorful banner in the foyer, missing it completely before somebody in the dining hall tipped me off and I dashed outside again. Blinking in the sunlight as it poured in through the glass windows, I worked my way up the list.
Brotherhood of Thieves — a five-piece indie rock outfit from Hartford, Connecticut. You may already be aware of them if you keep an ear out for local bands of note. I’d never heard of them because most of the music I listen to gets recorded in somebody’s living room, but these guys are the real deal. Their music was somewhat annoying to dig up; the MySpace player doesn’t work on my computer for some reason, and the only place I could find their collected recordings was MySpace and by the by, who the hell uses MySpace anymore? Luckily, YouTube managed to deliver.
“Compromise Unlikely” is a sunny indie-pop number that bounces along on whatever musical adrenaline remains from the 90s with solos to boot! I can already imagine what this song would look like on Guitar Hero. I have no real qualms with Brotherhood of Thieves; on some of their tracks they even bust out the occasional country-fried riff that would make Mountain jealous. From there they oscillate back and forth between indie-pop and indie-folk-and-maybe-bluegrass. Brotherhood of Thieves isn’t my particular cup of tea, but they’re certainly a band worth checking out.
Bearstronaut! Hey, it sounds like a band I would like. Wait, it’s dance- pop? No, synth-pop. Dance-synth-pop. According to their Facebook they are “Part New-Wave, part Britpop, part Electro, part R&B, but for the most part Synth-Pop.” Whatever. It’s four guys with keyboards. No, I don’t know if they necessarily all use keyboards. I certainly hope they do, as it would justify the number of tracks I hear on “Birds of Prey.” It sounds kind of like an outer space orgy if all of the aliens had both male andfemale genitalia. Yes, that was a compliment.
The Gurus?! Wait a second — I know this band! They made “Tears on the Wardrobe,” a charming little psychedelic number that would smell like the 60s if music could smell like anything. They hail from Barcelona, Spain, but could easily just have stepped out of a time machine; the harmonies on “Big Sea” are more than a little McCartney-Lennon-esque. I’d say the song reminded me of Revolver, but somebody already wrote that on a YouTube comment page and now nobody would believe me if I said I had thought of it beforehand.
MOBROC. You already know what this entails.
Wicked Peach. While you’re watching the band play during this set, I’ll be watching the crowd. Wicked Peach is somewhat of a bi-annual thing at Conn, and those in the audience who appreciate Wicked Peach will cheer and dance. However, Floralia is a long day, and it’s plausible that some Camels might not necessarily want to hear Train’s “Soul Sister” followed immediately by Ozzy Osbourne’s “Crazy Train.” Those people will follow an old Conn tradition by booing, throwing things and making general asses of themselves. Regardless, everyone in the audience will have an immensely good time.
Community of Living Things. Jon Markson ’12 is a genius and this is his solo project. Did I mention he’s a genius? Go forth and listen. Go.
Take Care! Led by Kyle Joseph ’12, this band is one of the more pleasant surprises of the year. Take Care blends talented young musicianship with affecting sincerity. Tracks like “Halfway House” sound like it could be featured on Grey’s Anatomy one of these days, which is essentially a rocket ship to alt-indie stardom. Check out their album “Somewhere Safe” (which The College Voice already gave a positive review).
Shake the Baron! This choice surprised no one — and that’s just the way we like it. Shake the Baron is one of Conn’s most beloved student bands (also featuring Jon Markson ’12 on guitar), with an infectious, uplifting sound that (almost) makes me want to dance. You may remember their cover of “Incinerate” last semester during our centennial celebrations and how awesome it was.
Araabmuzik! Aside from boasting impeccable spelling, beat-smith Abraham Orellana has sold beats to a number of famous artists including Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Fabolous — the list goes on. You may have heard of his unparalleled skill on the MPC — that’s a “Music Production Center” or in other words, a drum machine. Orellana’s an experienced traditional drummer himself, and his live shows are a sight to behold.
Finally, my eyes reached the top of the list, and what name did I see but… New Boyz? The name was at once familiar but it took me a few moments to recall where I had heard it — back in 2009 when their viral video hit “You’re a Jerk” dropped. Aside from being damn near responsible for the “jerkin’” movement in California, they’re also know for…well, they aren’t really known for much else. So I did a little research. Their first album is called Skinny Jeanz and a Mic. People at Conn like skinny jeans and some of them probably have microphones. Seems like a solid choice to me, right? They also replace any potential “s” in the spelling of their song names with a “z.” That’s pretty wacky, huh? They even have a song called “Skinny Jeanz” and they spell that with a “z” too.
Do you see what I’m doing here folks? I am remaining positive. Floralia is for all intents and purposes the best day of the year for a variety of reasons that the class of 2015 will discover for themselves in a short time. The bands are important, but they don’t necessarily decide how awesome Floralia will be. Hell, half the time the bands are just providing the background music to whatever adventures students choose to embark on during that glorious day. Just don’t wander off and end up missing the music entirely — easier said than done.
