On: April 10 at 11:11 AM
Above, Isaac Lopez, far right, with Awesome: The Band. At front, David Mayman jams with Avon Union.
Avon Union runs through two songs during a recent rehearsal:
Many young musicians come to University of Pacific to study classical and jazz at one of the country’s leading conservatories. David Mayman and Ian Keighley, by contrast, are looking to rock, and in doing so they’re hoping to help rejuvenate Pacific’s college-music scene.
The two co-founded Musical Fusion, a student club that serves as an informal union for the campus’ pop and rock acts. The organization lobbies university officials for rehearsal space, books on-campus shows, maintains a Web site for its members and promotes the growth of popular music at Pacific.
Those efforts are beginning to pay off. Bands have performed regularly this year at The Summit, the student union. Each group in the April 10 university battle of the bands belongs to the club.
The battle begins at 6 p.m. in Pacific's Raymond Great Hall. Admission is $10.
Several Musical Fusion groups are set to perform Saturday at a campus event for incoming freshmen.
Meanwhile, the Pacific band Susurrus Rex will play a free show with Hey Manna!, Telephone Hat and Novel Heroes at 7 p.m. April 11 at Eureka Coffee, 239 E. Louise Ave., Lathrop, as part of the Central Valley indie Fest series.
Mayman, a 19-year-old graphic design major from Los Angeles, said the club hopes to build the university’s scene so that one day it’s an accepted part of campus life.
“When you get to Pacific, you know you can play, start a band — that’s what we want, eventually,” he said.
The university has been home to some of the top musicians to emerge from Stockton, as it counts Dave Brubeck and Chris Isaak as graduates.
Today, the number of pop and rock groups has grown to between seven and 10, and they are performing more frequently off campus.
Each has its own sound. Susurrus Rex plays atmospheric pop that crosses the Flaming Lips with Camper Van Beethoven, while Avon Union has the gritty, hard-driving sensibilities of Queens of the Stone Age. Members of Avon Union include Keighley, who sings and plays guitar, and Mayman, a drummer. Keighley also is the drummer for Susurrus Rex.
Awesome: The Band, meanwhile, is a folk-comedy trio with a set includes tongue-in-cheek covers of Soulja Boy and Dr. Dre songs. It’s that type of eclecticism that make Pacific’s scene a refreshing contrast to the rest of San Joaquin County, which is dominated by hardcore, metal, hip-hop and punk.
Musical Fusion members said the development of Pacific’s scene is less about their efforts and more about the dedication of student musicians. For Los Angeles native Keighley, 20, playing rock provides a welcome distraction from the grind of classwork.
“It’s such a great distraction and such a great stress reliever,” he said.
Musical Fusion started in 2006 as a reaction to the difficultly pop bands encountered in finding rehearsal rooms. Such space is at a premium on campus, with most of it reserved for the Conservatory of Music’s 170 students.
Director of jazz studies Patrick Langham noted that the conservatory has three student combos, a big band, a symphony orchestra and a chorus as well as several chamber music groups.
“We’ve got all these things vying for rehearsal space,” Langham said. “You must prioritize that space based on what you do, which is grant degrees in European classical and jazz music.”
Stockton native and saxophone performance major Isaac Lopez, 19, is seeking one of those degrees. As guitarist for Awesome: The Band, he’s also one of the few conservatory students in a Musical Fusion group.
It’s not easy for Lopez to find time to rehearse with Awesome, as he’s also part of a jazz ensemble and chamber group for the conservatory. And Lopez is expected to practice his saxophone for at least 90 minutes daily.
“With all those different rehearsals, it really eats away at your time,” Lopez said. “I found the only way you can make it is that you have to stop everything and make time.”
Lopez and other Pacific students might find it easier to play and rehearse when Pacific's new university center opens in the fall. The 55,000-square-foot facility will include a café that will feature live music and that the university bills as a "late night hot-spot on weekends."
Musical Fusion hopes to often feature its bands in the café.
"Next year we have big plans for the university center," Mayman said.
Here is video of Susurrus Rex performing "Robotic Love" March 27 at Valley BRew in Stockton:
And here is Awesome: The Band performing at The Summit:
