Campus bands hope to revitalize music scene

By Nate Seltenrich

Santa Clara's music scene is like extraterrestrial life - some like it, some don't and most insist it doesn't exist. But the truth is out there, and the following musicians want you to know that they're the real thing.

Complex Molecules

Complex Molecules is a group on the rise at Santa Clara these days. Comprised of juniors Joseph Martinez II and Santigie Fofana-Dura, who rap and offer input on beats, junior Brian Elgin, who is the primary beat maker, and senior Brian Dresser, who spins the turntables, Complex Molecules are on a quest to make theirs a household name here at Santa Clara and around the world. Their brand of old-school influenced, energy hip-hop has made them a well-appreciated part of the university music scene ever since their inception in early 2001. A recent performance at the de Saisset Museum's first-annual College Night drew a sizeable crowd to the art museum's unique environment and also provided Jubei (Joseph) and Tiggy (Santigie) with their favorite on-campus performance so far. Despite this positive experience, they don't find the Santa Clara music scene without faults. Although Tiggy acknowledges that there are "lots of kids trying to do things" and that the scene can be active at times, he and Jubei also see the scene as being too underground and lacking proper publicity. Complex Molecules' solution is to work hard to attract new listeners, including faculty and staff, in order to draw as many people into the scene as possible.

Monkey Rides Dog

Monkey Rides Dog is a new band here at Santa Clara whose members are waiting for the perfect time and place to make their official public debut. Donning costumes, creative stage names and personalities, these four creative sophomores strive to make Monkey Rides Dog heard, seen and not soon forgotten. For a taste of their style, consider their description of the band: Bucket of Trash Dic-Dic "creates the pulse of the songs with sticks and feet," Susa the Bear plays a four-string guitar, Harry the Hairy Hairball is "the beater of skin" and She-quiffa Gidder also plays guitar. Their sound is no less distinctive: dark, percussive and funky space-groove rock and roll. A variety of influences such as James Brown, Les Claypool, Bob Dylan, the Smurfs and Jesus inform their unique sound. Despite their unusual style, their opinion of the music scene at school is more common. "The music scene is dead here," states Bucket of Trash Dic-Dic. "We're going to bring some light to it." For those who want to rally behind their cause of revitalizing our music scene, Monkey Rides Dog plans to play around campus at such venues as the Bronco and the mini Greek theater throughout the year.

Seven Secrets

Seven Secrets is a heavy, melodic rock band that combines such influences as the Smashing Pumpkins, Collective Soul and Pearl Jam. As Lotus, from which they recently changed their name, the band - graduate school class of '02 Simon C. Bell on vocals, senior Conor Dickinson on drums, non-student Kevin Matthews on bass and graduate Bryan Matthews on rhythm guitar and Jim Macdonald on lead guitar - has frequently performed at numerous on-campus venues over the past three years. As only one of their members remains a student, Seven Secrets have begun to move their act off-campus to both local venues and more exotic locales in San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Cruz. In addition to augmenting their focus and motivation to succeed, this has sharpened their perspective on the music scene at the university. They cite one major shortcoming that seems to be holding it back: a lack of networking, communication and organization between and among all of the student musicians and groups. "Everyone needs to know who everyone else is," said Bryan Matthews. Perhaps if this were achieved, in addition to more advance notification for concerts and performances, new life would be given to the music scene.

I9nition

I9nition is an ever-changing pop punk/grunge rock band that features two recent Santa Clara graduates and has dreams of popular music celebrity. Singer Ken Ota and drummer John Holloway, both from the class of '02, team up with San Diego State student Adam Jackson on lead guitar, high school teacher Alex Rivera on bass and high school student Ryan Raam on rhythm guitar to form the diversely populated I9nition. The band has performed at many local venues and has also played twice at the Bronco. I9nition is currently working on a second album and hopes to eventually make it big some day by appearing on TV. Despite his lofty aspirations, Ota was also able to comment on something closer to home: the Santa Clara music scene.

"I think it sucks," he said. Ota explained that the scene is too underground and that although he believes there are many talented musicians, he thinks they should put their skills into better organization among themselves. Another part of the problem, he said, is that many Santa Clara groups are too adamant about avoiding popular music styles, which in turn greatly limits their potential fan bases.

Infinite Beats

Infinite Beats is a group of three Santa Clara student DJs that formed in August of 2001. Graduate students Sati Hillyer (pictured), Jason Wue and sophomore Michael Morales rotate spinning hip-hop and house during their performances at parties and school functions. Although Hillyer and Wue just learned to DJ when the threesome bought their tables last year, Morales has been spinning since he was 12.

"I don't have any expectations. I'm just having a good time," said Hillyer. Despite their differences in motivation, the members of Infinite Beats agree to be open minded, asserting that they'll perform at almost any party function. This is how Infinite Beats fits in to the Santa Clara music scene, which Hillyer describes as "not very prevalent." However, he also notes that he has seen a trend toward the development of a scene over the past four or five years. In order for this to continue, he suggests that the school do a better job of supporting the music scene and that the musicians also place greater responsibility upon themselves by taking the initiative to make themselves heard and to develop a fan base.