<ong>Runner-Up: Karate Squids
Karate Squid is an all-freshman, all-male group that came in second at Battle of the Bands. They will be the first band to play at spring concert. I went and talked to Karate Squid members during their practice to get a look at this new band’s identity before their big show.
The band has four members: Sanders McMillan (drummer), Eli Ruffer (bassist), Nate Grein (guitar and singer), and Cyrus Deloye (guitar). Despite their first year status, they have been organized for a good while. Nate and Sanders started talking about forming a band over the summer, before they had even gotten to Carleton. Soon after arriving, Cyrus and Eli joined the group, making the band that we know today.
The group collectively writes all of their own music. Lead singer Grein said, “we do not have some divine muse. We just want to have new material to play at every gig.” As a band that has recently formed, Karate Squid is going to have to write a lot more in order to fill the thirty-minute Spring Concert set.
They classify themselves as indie. Deloye said, “People will tell me that we sound like a band that I have never heard of, and almost always it is great music that I would definitely listen to.”
The band says that the campus has been extremely supportive, and that they are surprised by the extent of their following. Every one of the group members reported at least one person they did not previously know approaching them to compliment the band’s progress. People are even joking that Karate Squid has become too popular to be considered hipster anymore.
Next year the fate of Karate Squid is in flux due to study abroad trips and other school commitments. McMillan stated, “Short term, we really are all about playing good music and being in the moment.” They do have goals to eventually record some of their music, but right now, Karate Squid is focused on playing for Spring Concert.
Deloye jokingly said, “We are throwing out cash and free beer so everyone should come see us.” Come see Karate Squid at Spring Concert this weekend, from 3:00-3:30 pm, on the field behind the Rec.
Winner: Different Animals
Champion Different Animals has earned the coveted spring concert slot. Formed in Spring 2013, they first performed at last year’s Farmstock, and played there again this year.
The band has six members: Rebecca Spiro, Emily Scotto, Curtis Vamarasi, Nora Gregor, Maja Black, and Abby Easton. They define themselves as funky indie rock with pop choruses, and have an extremely unique sound, even for a music scene as diverse as Carleton’s.
Members meet twice a week to practice and write new material. Easton and Scotto write the majority of the lyrics. Scotto said, “The process has become much more solidified as time has gone on and we have become a cohesive unit to the point that I cannot even picture a time when we weren’t friends.”
Vamarasi graduates this spring, so Different Animals is on the lookout for a new drummer. Regardless, they very much plan on staying together next year, and possibly reaching out to more Northfield venues. Easton said, “ We plan to continue to write new music and fill the folk music void in Northfield.”
Come see Different Animals at Spring Concert this weekend, from 3:45-4:15 p.m., on the field behind the Rec.