Freak Scene
From Roxy to Radiohead, the college environment has always been a natural spawning ground for rock ‘n’ roll bands.
Tim Smyth, 17 Sep 2007
College can be a Nirvana for aspiring musicians. At last – a place where people love Mogwai as much as you do! Where not everyone wants to like Slash! Where the same four musical influences aren’t bandied around in every conversation!
Gaz Harding from Hot Press/Beck’s Fusion Competition winners The Kinetiks agrees. He’s studying Sound Engineering in Temple Bar, having completed a degree in Social Science at UCD, and two of his bandmates are taking courses in Dundalk. Having come close to winning this year’s National Student Music Awards, he’s well-qualified to advise aspiring bands.
“There are many reasons why college is a great place to put a band together. You can just see why bands that form there become successful. It’s the only time of your life when you’re going to have that excess time, and disposable income to throw at making demos, buying music and rehearsals. A bit of time-management is important, but once that’s sorted, you can throw a lot of your time at music without jeopardising your studies. After three years you can be anywhere you want to be – if you put the work in, you see the benefits.”
As Gaz discovered, UCD was an ideal place to find a bunch of fellow musical hopefuls.
“When you go to college, every second fella plays guitar, and every third is a bass player, and every tenth is a drummer – it’s like a breeding ground for new bands!
“It’s so easy getting time off – I have a job at the moment, and it’s just the biggest song and dance getting the morning off or whatever. But in college, you could go one or two weeks without setting foot in the place – though I guess that’s not a good idea if you really want to do well! You can take the day off and put in a seven- or eight-hour rehearsal. And they often have rehearsal spaces on-campus, so you’re not paying ridiculous money for a space in Temple Bar.”
Another approach is to take a gap year to devote to your band if you think you have a real chance of breaking through. While in college, you’ll also be presented with lots of gigging opportunities
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