Club Spotlight: Exeter Association of Rock

By SAMUEL ALTMAN, AMERSON LIANG, KEVIN THANT, and MEGHAN TATE ZEE

It’s winter. It’s a Tuesday morning, and you’ve got a test for the next block. The last thing you want to do is go to the assembly, but nevertheless, you trudge up the marble stairs as a thunderous noise begins to emanate from above. As you round the corner, to your surprise, you see a scene of absolute mayhem: lights dimmed, the audience on their feet and raving, and a group of four individuals on stage, using their entire bodies to give the student body their absolute best. Suddenly, you realize the horror of your mistake—you’re late to EAR assembly. 

EAR (Exeter Association of Rock) is a student-led organization wherein musicians can either form pre-determined bands with their friends or sign up to be matched with others looking to form a new group. Throughout the year they work towards a series of performances.

Club advisor Dr. Eric Schultz explained how the sign-up process works. “When the club forms at the beginning of the fall, a big spreadsheet is made of all the musicians who are interested in playing and what instrument they play. That spreadsheet is made available to all EAR members, and then from there people will connect and start rehearsing. Some bands just do one concert together and some will last for years, which is exactly how it works outside of Exeter,” he said. 

“We generally let the arranging of bands happen naturally. We then meet up at some point in the term for a big concert, but we don’t meet on a weekly basis as a whole club,” upper and co-head Wilson Rhee added.

Though the club is styled as the Exeter Association of Rock, members participate in a wide range of popular music not often performed in an academic setting. “I know some bands experiment a lot more, but we mostly do rock—different types, though, like pop rock, punk, and metal,” lower and co-head Eliyas Koch-Manzur said.

“We have a lot of different types of music,” Rhee agreed. “Last year, we had some people do some jazz standards, show tunes, rock and roll, shoegaze, and even some rap.”

“I do a lot of classical music, too,” upper Tristan Price explained. “In that world, there’s not much involvement of newer music, rock music, or pop music. So, I think it’s really nice to have that group of people who have similar interests.”

Throughout the term, bands in EAR come together to practice their songs and build up their dynamics as a team. “The best part about working in bands is that they form organically. At our first meeting, people were just bringing their friends and forming groups. For my group last year, our bassist just saw us practicing and we asked him, ‘Hey, do you want to hop on the base and play with us?’ It was all very organic, we all knew each other, and we all enjoyed hanging out with each other outside of the bands,” Koch-Manzur said.

“We always jam out whenever we meet up with each other,” senior and co-head Arianna Bocchino commented. “Coordinating can be tricky because everyone has so many other commitments, but once we all finally agree on a date for a concert, it’s like magic.”

“I tend to be in bands with people I’m friends with, and so it’s pretty chill. For practice, I normally meet with my bands once a week or so for an hour or two,” upper Athena Creigh added.

All of that practicing culminates in performances both in the form of concerts in the music center and assemblies. Recently, EAR held a concert in the middle of the fall term. “It was a little bit nerve-wracking,” Rhee admitted. “We did a lot of the planning around the other events that we’re going on, so we had to do it on a Friday, which is atypical. So, we had less time to set up the instruments and speakers, but it ended up going really smoothly. All of the co-heads are really proud of all the bands that played, especially the preps, who had a really strong showing this year.”

“I really enjoyed seeing the preps perform,” Koch-Manzur agreed. “I know how hard it is in prep fall to actually practice and come together to perform, so I was impressed.”

“The two bands I’m part of this year are Bass’d and Hayloft and Chex Mix,” Creigh commented. “Chex Mix played ‘Deftones’ and ‘100 Gecs’ at the last concert. I also enjoyed Ava and some of the other lowers’ performances of ‘Hay Loft’ by Mother Mother and June Mamolo’s cover of ‘Vampire Empire’ by Big Thief.”

“It was actually very intimate,” a spectator at the event said. “We were in the Bowld, but we weren’t sitting in the big seats up high. Instead, we were more on the bleachers, and some were even sitting on the ground right in front of the performing bands. There was also a lot of crowd interaction from the singers. ‘Baby Doll’ by Dominic Fike was one of my favorites from the concert.”

Each band that performs in EAR inspires the rest of the club for the years to come. Some club members reflected on the different people who have made an impact so far. “I’m pretty close with our advisor, Dr. Schultz,” Price reflected. “I’ve talked to him a lot about music because we have similar interests even beyond rock, and he’s just a really great guy. One of the co-heads, Quinn Dabney, is the bassist in my band, and we have a lot of fun there and are really close. Then there’s also the co-head who graduated last year with whom we had some spectacular performances—Vi Mateos.”

EAR is already preparing for its next performance, and its bands are always looking for new members to join. “I would just like to tell anyone who didn’t sign up for EAR at the beginning of the fall term who is still interested to please reach out to the co-heads or myself. Don’t feel like you have to wait until next year—everybody’s welcome,” Schultz added.

Rhee added, “I appreciate all of the audience members and loyal groupies who come out to the show and keep the atmosphere up. They are really the beating heart of the club in a way. I would also encourage anyone who enjoys music or is just looking for events to attend to go to the EAR concerts when they happen.”

“Out of all the ways in which students express themselves through art, I think EAR is one of the most free, fun, and liberating ways to do so. There are truly no limits to what you can do and I think you can see that when people are performing, they’re just having a great time,” Rhee concluded.