Let's begin with one profound realization: Tufts' music scene is certainly not dead, nor still reeling in the wake of Guster. Tufts' latest musical addition adds even more class and glitz than before; The Gentlemen, who are performing a show of their own this Thursday at 9 p.m. at Oxfam Caf?©.
The band formed in the fall semester of 2005 when guitarist Andrew Lappin, vocalist Dusty Nichols-Schmolze and bassist Aaron Gardony, now juniors, met during their freshman year. Sharing a love of playing music and a distinct penchant for classic rock, the three decided to band together, so to speak, and form a group.
As time wore on, Andrew Slotnick, a junior at BU, and Tufts junior Mark Adams came in on tenor sax and trumpet, respectively. Gardony's father, Laszlo, a professor at the nearby Berklee School of Music, filled the missing link on keys. With a swap-out of drummers, sophomore Austin Siadak, fell into place as the band's last member, holding down the rhythm section.
With the final lineup set, the band officially took on the Tufts Campus in the spring term of 2007 with gigs across campus, from the frat circuit to the Indie shows in Oxfam Caf?©. This spectrum of shows illustrates one of the band's strongest points: universal likability.
With a sound that is described by all members as "classic rock meets folk meets funk, very American throughout, no matter what," it's difficult not to like these merry men. No matter what one's taste in music may be, The Gentlemen offer such a bevy of sounds at every show that it's hard not to be pleased by some aspect of their music or showmanship.
"We're a hodgepodge of styles," said Gardony, "since all of the musicians in the band come from different styles of music." "It's definitely American music. It comes from blues, country, rock and jazz. If you come to one of our shows, you're definitely going to hear the rock, and the jazz, from Laszlo," added Siadak.
Even though the band is, in relative terms, fairly young, they have already spent time in a pro recording studio laying down a four-track EP, which will be released at the show on Thursday. Recorded at Progressive Studios in Manhattan as well as The Sound Machine in the same borough of New York, the album sounds astonishingly good for such a quick production.
Produced by Lappin and his good friend Mike Machinist, the album was done over the course of only a few weekends during the summer of 2007.
"It went really quick, actually," said Nichols-Schmolze. "Some songs we got on the first take, and it was very daunting at first with everyone in one room, but once you're comfortable, it just falls into place."
When confronted with the question of what a 'standard' Gentlemen song sounds like, Nichols-Schmolze said, "There is definitely an element of straight-ahead songwriting, with lyrics and choruses and all that, but we really like improvisation. It just keeps the music so much fresher."
"That's really why I got into music in the first place," said Gardony. "That's the most fun part of music, even though it's not particularly radio-friendly."
The interview also revealed that The Gentlemen are soon to undergo a name-change to match the title of their new EP, "The Gentlemen's Bet." The four-track EP will be on sale at the Oxfam show as well as through any of the band members. Tracks from the disk are also available on The Gentlemen's Myspace site.
With so much already accomplished, The Gentlemen still face the largest challenge of being in a college band: junior year abroad. With guitarist Lappin leaving for the majority of the year and other members soon to follow, the band will unfortunately have to take a temporary hiatus through the spring semester of 2008.
"Yeah, that whole part of being in college is rough," said Lappin. "But we'll regroup over the summer and come back with a vengeance our senior year. We just need to really put on some good shows in the time we have, which shouldn't be too hard."
If the future was any worry for this group, those fears have certainly been put to rest. The group has many potential gigs, with Nicholas-Schmolze, hinting, "I actually have my own great idea for a gig, but I can't tell you about it yet. But I can tell you later."
Here's to hoping 'later' isn't too far off.
