Sleeping on the floor for the love of music

Freshman Brandon Lucia's laid-back personality comes as a surprise, considering the amount of caffeine he generally consumes by the afternoon.

"I am a huge coffee drinker," Lucia says. "You can probably see my hands shaking -- this is my third [cup] today."

Lucia's packed schedule makes the caffeine a necessity. Some nights, Lucia only gets three hours of sleep as a result of balancing his time between his six courses and his job as an assistant computer administrator in Tufts' computer science department.

Classes and computers, however, aren't even Lucia's biggest priority. "I'm a big music person," he explains.

Talk about an understatement. Lucia owns a record collection worth approximately $1,000 -- and he sleeps on the floor under his bed in order to make room for his turntables.

"I live underneath my bed," Lucia says. "It's kind of silly; I moved [the mattress] underneath so I could put my stuff on top. It actually worked out really well, and I recommend it to everyone."

Not everyone, however, understands Lucia's intense appreciation for records. "Some people think it's ridiculous that I collect turntables for the purpose of playing with them," Lucia says. "Older people, especially, do not understand; 'You're going to break the records!' they say."

Predominantly a funk aficionado, Lucia collects mainly early hip hop records. "I don't collect hip hop that you would have a party listening to," he says. "I'm more into actually keeping old funk records, where hip hop came from. I also try to make my own." Some of the hip-hop pioneers Lucia admires include DJ Shadow, DJ Cut Chemist, and Double D & Steinski. "They're the original beat creators," Lucia says. "They did it back in the '80s."

Despite the fact that it's taken over his sleeping quarters, Lucia's hobby remains just that: a hobby. "I don't know if I have enough material to DJ a party, but I don't know if I want to either," Lucia says. "It's a huge money investment. I just have fun with it. If we're hanging around I'll start playing some records."

As strains of Billy Joel's "Piano Man" play on Brown and Brew's sound system, Lucia notes that he doesn't only enjoy funk and hip hop music. "I'm a fan of any kind of music," he says, with one exception: "Sorry, country fans."

Not just a listener, Lucia also enjoys creating music of his own. He's a bit of a piano man himself, and also plays the drums. Lucia even started a few bands back in high school. Just don't ask him to sing: "Only in the shower," he laughs.

Lucia, who was raised in upstate New York, finds Boston's diverse music scene very satisfying. "I prefer the city so much more," he says. "There's so much more to do. There's always a show or something."

Lucia's woodsy hometown did, however, contribute to another of his passions: rock climbing. "We have woods, so I go hiking and rock climbing a lot over the summer," Lucia says.

Besides dropping the beats and using his feet, Lucia enjoys tearing up the streets on a skateboard. "I'm the one that ruins Copley Square," he boasts. Lucia admits, however, that skateboarding is mainly for entertainment and transportation purposes, so you probably won't catch him on the X Games any time soon. "Maybe in a few years," he grins. His skateboarder lingo is definitely coming along, though: some of Lucia's catchphrases include the words "radical" and "tubular."

Lucia is also interested in less "radical" activities: in his job at Tufts' computer science department, he "[makes] sure that the labs in Halligan are suitable for daily use." The DJing, rock-climbing, and skateboarding buff also has experience in the computer science field. "Back home, I was an assistant administrator for a company that worked a lot with GE, doing staging for them," Lucia says. "I met some interesting people."

Lucia's computer expertise, though not as exciting as his DJing skills, comes in handy for his fellow hallmates. "If anyone in my hall has computer questions, they always come to me," he says. His experiences have inspired him to go "pro-geek" in the future: Lucia plans on working for a software company after Tufts.

Apparently, DJing, rock climbing, skateboarding, and getting computer-geeky are not enough for this well-rounded student: Lucia, who acted in high school productions and a community theater group, says of acting, "I'm thinking of taking it back up again."

Tufts Drama Department, watch out.

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