University of Rock

Arts feature:
WVBR's University of Rock
Ithaca Times
May 6, 2009
779 words
"Rock Formations"

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Rock Formations

Mark Tedeschi

When a light bulb switches on in Ryan McGuire's head, it stays lit. "I'm an anti-procrastinator," he explains. "I had the idea about six weeks before we started."

Just over two months ago, McGuire, a 27-year-old Thursday-night DJ for WVBR, racked his brain for a way for radio to contend with its burlier cousins, TV and the Internet. "Radio is a powerful medium," he says, but of all three, "it probably has the least amount of interaction."

He came up with a solution in University of Rock, a reality-esque show that pits three Cornell-student bands against each other in six weekly challenges. By earning the most points, the winning band would be awarded six hours of professional recording time at Ithaca's Rep Studio. But first - auditions.

"We had 12 to 15 bands audition from 8am to 7pm on a Saturday in a jam studio on campus. They were pretty unique auditions... they played two or three songs and answered a list of random, wacky questions," McGuire says. "We knew they had to be talented, but also interactive enough for people to listen to weekly. We gave truth or dare questions, asked them to act out scenes from Willy Wonka, things like that."

Three groups made the cut: One Trick Pony, Weggalo Star, and Funk & Disorderly. The guitarist for Funk & Disorderly, Ethan Cohen, says, "As soon as I saw Ryan's shoes and his Spacecar, I expected the oddball questions."

While One Trick Pony has a sound that McGuire describes as "their own kind of country rock," its members call it simply, "Pop." They remained confident through the audition. "It was kind of dorky," remembers Matt Schmohl, guitarist and bassist for One Trick Pony. "We had fun with it. I think they liked our attitude."

Joey Stevens, One Trick Pony's guitarist and primary songwriter, explains how the band's history directed their approach to the contest: "We weren't trying to put on a show the second we got together - we were just trying to focus on playing." Their first gig wasn't until a year after they'd initially formed, and once they joined the contest, he says, they "dedicated pretty much the same amount of time that we always had to the band" and found that delicate balance between music and academics.

For the first challenge, each band was given 15 minutes to compose a song about a sandwich from Collegetown Bagels (check www.wvbr.com to hear what they came up with). In the second week, they had to produce an original music video.

Despite the four-day time constraints, each band used the video assignment to highlight their sense of humor and jocular approach to music. "We basically came up with it all in one night," says Ariyan Basu, guitarist, bassist, keyboardist and vocalist for Weggalo Star. "We finished at two in the morning... there was fake blood all over our attic."

After a "junk jam," a cover of Frank Sinatra's "Luck Be a Lady," a concert in an unconventional location, and a more standard concert on West Campus on April 29, the scores were tallied: Weggalo Star emerged victorious. "I'm very proud of all three bands," says McGuire. "Funk & Disorderly has an amazing sound... it can be hard to capture the full extent of the quality of [singer Magee Lawhorn's] voice on the radio."

Weggalo Star, ever modest, agreed. "We're all sophomores," says guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist David Vieira. "Half of Funk & Disorderly are seniors."

"It was so intimidating because they're all older and more established," Basu adds. "We saw One Trick Pony [perform] in October, and they were actually the reason we started a band. We said, 'These guys are awesome!'" Not only are Weggalo Star relatively new, they hadn't actually played for an audience before their University of Rock audition.

For now, the group will wait to cash in their prize so they can "hit the ground running" next year. And speaking of next year, McGuire says the voter turnout was easily enough to ensure that the contest will materialize again.

"All three bands will continue to be promoted on WVBR," he says. With all of the self-promotion, he says, "The whole six weeks groomed them toward being real rock stars."

Basu got to meet a real rock star at Slope Day last week. "[The Apples in Stereo's] Rob Schneider was like, 'Weggalo Star? How do you spell that? That's one of the coolest band names I've heard in a while, actually.'"

When asked to explain their moniker, Basu says, "Every show, we make up at least two stories about how we got the band name... we're going to leave it a mystery, I guess."

They're learning fast.

All three bands have fan pages on Facebook, and all three will be playing a "guaranteed to be a blast" University of Rock concert at 10pm this Saturday, May 9 at the Nines.



Magna cum loud-e: The winners of University Rock, Weggalo Star. (Photo provided)