AppleJam caters to smaller musical groups

AppleJam, a student group that brings lesser-know music to campus, has returned after a brief hiatus with a new goal to focus more on Tufts artists.

AppleJam will help on-campus bands find spaces to practice and create opportunities for them to display their talents. "We're trying to work on something so we can have a huge concert with lots of Tufts bands -- we're really trying to promote Tufts talent," co-coorinator Loni Carp said.

AppleJam will also collaborate with the Tufts Feminist Alliance for an event that will bring in local female artists as well as Tufts artists.

Last spring, the group fell dormant and its budget was in danger of being cancelled. This fall, sophomores Carp and Karen Biedermann proposed the creation of an organization that would have the same aim of bringing lesser-known acts to Tufts. The Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate saw the overlap between the two organizations, and Carp and Biedermann received permission to take over control of AppleJam and maintain its budget.

Until the transition in leadership occured, the club was very informally organized; AppleJam members often personally knew members of bands and worked out verbal contracts with them. The concerts had a D.I.Y. feel to them, with acts bringing their own equipment and setting up themselves. Shows were scantily promoted on the Tufts campus (though organizers sometimes used Boston-area websites like justanotherscene.com). As a result, the shows were well-attended, but the audiences were not predominantly made up of Tufts students.

According to sophomore David Buivid, a member since last year, the organization is "radically different now than it has been in the past."

In the last four years, AppleJam has brought about 100 bands to play at various locations in and around Tufts, ranging from the Crane Room to the Arts Haus to the basements of off-campus houses.

The groups were usually ones who were not well established at the time of their concert, though some like Ted Leo (who played in the Carmichael Lounge last spring) already had a credible reputation before coming to Tufts. Many bands began to grow in popularity after their Tufts shows, proving that AppleJam has a good sense of the up-and-coming.

Since last year, the club has lost some of its impromptu dynamic. Buivid said that "Now there's more red tape to go through. It's going to be like Concert Board Junior."

Shows cannot be planned on the fly anymore, which carries with it both positives and negatives aspects. AppleJam will not be able to put on as many concerts as it did in the past, but the shows will be better promoted on campus.

Despite structural similarities to Concert Board, AppleJam is a much smaller organization, with only about 10-15 regular members. Because of its small size, the club can cater to the wants of individual members. Biedermann said that the variety of musical tastes within the club are a good cross-section for Tufts at large and will allow acts that appeal to everyone's tastes to appear on campus.

While AppleJam has a reputation for focusing on underground rock acts, the new club will strive toward a balance of different genres. Its first event of the year was the Stephen Kellogg concert, an acoustic singer-songwriter and not the typical AppleJam artist. Biedermann said, however, that "the new AppleJam isn't about changing the type of music but integrating all genres of music."

AppleJam's plans for other upcoming acts, including New York-based rock band Elefant and solo artist John Vanderslice, reflect the original indie bent of the club.

For those interested in joining AppleJam, meetings are Monday nights at 9 in Barnum 114.