In the face of what some call a dying music scene, Syracuse University kept the spirit of music alive by bringing the noise and the funk last night.

The first OctoberJam, co-sponsored by the Music and Entertainment Student Association and The Jabberwocky Caf, was held in the Schine Underground last night for a crowd of about 150 people. The overall message behind the event was expressing the scene of live music to the entire university.

‘There has been a lot on controversy on campus about the lack of music because of places like Planet 505 being shut down, but we want them to know that it’s still out there,’ said Lauren Hallman, co-president of MESA and a senior music industry major. ‘We’re trying to get students to appreciate live music more. Only a small part of the population does, where the overall goal is to get people more into music.’

The show began at 7:30 p.m. with local ska band The Benefits, who hail from Watson Hall. Sweaty Etiquette, a local funk band, also performed, as well as the special guest, Jounce. The sight of the band’s lead singer, Danny Tamberelli of Nickelodeon’s ‘The Adventures of Pete and Pete’ fame, may have been the most highly anticipated part of the evening’s show.

‘The whole Nickelodeon thing is very appealing, especially at college shows,’ Tamberelli said. ‘But it does help to bring people here, and then we hope they see beyond it. I do embrace it – it was a cool show. People aren’t coming up to me and saying ‘dude, your show sucked.”

But the show’s other bands weren’t overshadowed by their near-celebrity guest. Smaller compared to the rest of the night’s lineup, The Benefits opened the show with power, energy, and a large fan base. When they ended their set, more than half the audience exited.

‘It seems that we’ve gotten more people at every show we’ve done,’ said Ryan Raichilson, the band’s guitar player, and a sophomore accounting major. ‘People bring their friends, the word spreads.’

Although Raichilson said his bandmate Chris’ good looks attracted fans, he was still surprised with the crowd due to the type of music they play, because ska is terrible, he said.

‘It’s the worst music ever, and you can quote me on that,’ Raichilson said.

Yet the extent of musical taste did not range on the popular side throughout the night. Sweaty Etiquette, a local ‘sweaty funk’ band performed second and played several seemingly everlasting lyric-less jamming songs.

Although he prefers funk, singer and keyboardist Adam Gold, a junior public communications major, enjoys any type of music, as long as people want to listen. Because Syracuse has had several local places recently close down, free music is the best way to draw in new crowds on campus.

‘You’ve sometimes got to play free if you want people to come in and hear,’ Gold said.

When Jounce finally took the stage, Tamberelli got the crowd rocking once more with powerful bass rhythms and catchy jam songs.

‘Shows like these college shows – we can be ruckus and loud,’ Tamberelli said. ‘We can go balls to the wall.’

The whole music show was put together within three weeks, when Jounce planned to make a stop in Syracuse. Gold also had an in, as he went to high school with the band members, and he knew they had a gig at Awful Al’s Bar in Armory Square.

‘I told MESA that we needed to have a gig for them to play at,’ Gold said.

MESA became attracted to more than just the band when planning the concert. It was particularly interested in the idea of having a live show on campus.

‘I want people to love it,’ said Sara Villagio, co-president of MESA and a senior music industry major. ‘Live music is still alive and it will never stop. You just have to sometimes come looking for it.’

Although it may not be the norm, the live music scene is a very important part of student life and will not fade, Hallman said. People recently just haven’t seen it that often.

And even with the lack of popularity, it was all still a big success in the promoters’ minds, and they hope to make it an annual event with greater promotion and larger attendance, Villagio said.

‘The show was complete awesome,’ said Mary Siconolfi, an undecided freshman in The College of Arts and Sciences. ‘Honestly, I didn’t think anything like this was at Syracuse. I was so happy to hear it.’

Published on October 14, 2004 at 12:00 pm