Morse festival brings in da rawk

LIZ OLINER/YH Pinstripe will be rocking the proverbial house this weekend at Morse.

It's the favorite party small talk of a certain subsection of the Yale community, the ones who learn to say, "And where can I find rock here?" right after swapping names and states of origin as frosh. It's the eternal "When is the band scene going to take wing?" question, and as of late, it's been possible to answer it more optimistically than in re-cent years.

As one who can look back on a brief freshman-year music scene heyday (bands! Sac Am! Nadine!) followed by a protracted drought, I've gotten used to lamenting the music scene's moribundity, just as the world-weary Yalies a few years ahead of me kept alluding to a paradisical Yale at which Holiday, Sunday Puncher, and Boba Fett ruled the roost.

I'm going to have to shelve that curmudgeonly plaint, though, and head over to Morse this Saturday, because the recently- formed Musician's Cooperative, which brought bands like Trans Am and The Gaze to campus last semester, has put together a show with a talented, diverse lineup that proves Yale's band scene is as vibrant as it's ever been. In fact, Pinstripe, one of the headliners, will be releasing its first CD at the show, Sam Walsh and the Johnny Cactus are in the process of recording their first album, and Pearly Sweets and the Platonics were recently included on a compilation released by indie label Elevator Music. Hrishikesh Hirway, MC '00, a Pinstripe drummer, vocalist, and show organizer, spoke with the Herald about the event's rationale, lackadaisical crowds, and the growing Yale music scene.

"We decided to do this because other big events that have bands, like Spring Fling and Fall Fest, tend to be diluted with other parties' interests, or at least, the bands tend to be only vaguely consulted for what they'd like or want," Hirway said. "We wanted to put together a good showcase of Yale bands that has a nice sound system, lots of publicity, and no ulterior motive besides the desire to have our music heard."

Hirway continued, "The motivation stemmed from what had been the underwhelming turnouts at rock shows at Yale the last two years--the productions were always lacking in something, including attendees, though the music was often very good. So, here's our attempt at making a blowout of a show. If we can get a lot of people to come, and we aren't limited by the usual mitigating factors of jerry-rigging a PA out of this and that, this will hopefully be a successful show."

The Performing Musician's Cooperative, which sponsored the show, was founded by cast members from last February's Ziggy Stardust show in Sudler Hall. Hirway and a handful of other students registered the group as an undergraduate organization and have used it to attract an impressive roster of bands to campus.

Although he still has some concerns, Hirway is adamant that the scene has improved this year. "It used to be that we would sit around, waiting for the next good rock show to roll around," he said. "But there was a time this fall where there were rock shows every weekend with no repeats in bands. We'd actually be worried about how we were going to fit them into the busy schedule of rock that had sprung up. It
feels good."

Saturday's Morse Music Festival will feature 33.3, Cassius, Pinstripe, Pearly Sweets and the Platonics, Sam Walsh and the Johnny Cactus, and The Pin-Ups.

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