Drums, bass, hip-hop and jazz sound like an unlikely combination, but Drop will bring the four together tonight at 8 in the Schine Underground. The Boston-based quartet fuses differing musical styles to create what they call a completely new sound.

‘Drop is an organic hip-hop group with jazz influence,’ said Josh Roth, co-president of the Bandersnatch music series, which is bringing the band to Syracuse University.

‘Drop is hip-hop, alternative drums and bass band coming out of Boston,’ said Sherlen Archbald, co-president of the series. ‘They all were or are students at the Boston Conservatory of Music, so they’re all well-trained and good musicians in their own right. As Drop, they come together to form a super-group of good musicians.’

Keyboard player and synth musician Adam Gold and upright bassist and vocalist Dan Lehrich were working together as a jazz duo in the summer of 2002 when they decided to start a band. Drummer and vocalist Andrew Laubacher and lead singer Matt Clark joined the duo in September 2002. Drop is labeled as a hip-hop group, but there are several differences between it and the genre’s typical sound.

‘They play all their own instruments,’ Roth said, ‘so all the beats are them rather than a DJ. Also, they are all classically trained musicians, so they have a very professional sound.’

‘The group is actually far more jazz than hip-hop,’ said Adam Gorode, co-president of the series. ‘It’s a hip-hop rhythm under a jazz base. They’re able to incorporate a jam-band feel with a hip-hop and jazz rhythm.’

Drop is only one of the many bands being featured as part of the Bandersnatch Music series. The series, a subsidiary of University Union concerts, aims to bring smaller musical acts to SU that students might not have heard of, Archbald said.

‘We’re trying to revisit the history of bringing smaller acts (to SU),’ he said. ‘It spans all genres: alternative, rock, hip-hop, jazz, ska and punk.’

‘We were looking to bring a different sound to Syracuse,’ Gorode said. ‘We want to present an independent side of what’s going on in the music scene.’

The series features both student bands and larger, national acts.

‘We’re trying to catch the bigger acts in the middle of professional and major-label,’ Archbald said. ‘We want to get them right before they get too huge.’

‘We’re hoping that the series becomes incorporated into UU for a long period of time,’ Gorode said.

Bandersnatch group members have received positive feedback about Drop and the series in general.

‘We’ve had a table in Schine (Student Center) for the past two days and have been playing their demo tape nonstop,’ Roth said. ‘Almost 200 tickets have been sold so far. People are looking forward to finding out what it’s all about.’

‘People are really intrigued about the fact that we’re bringing in a different type of music,’ Archbald said. ‘We’re trying to rekindle the music spirit that the school used to have, and encourage new and live music.’

Folk singer Ember Swift and student groups Roast and Party in Your Pants have all been featured in the Schine Underground this year as part of the series.

‘All the shows are free,’ Archbald said, ‘which is a benefit for students to come out and enjoy live music.’

Published on February 25, 2004 at 12:00 pm