Fall to bring homegrown rock harvest

Rock 'n' roll at Yale stands on tenuous ground. Unlike most student groups, bands are rarely willing to recruit new members to carry on when upperclassmen graduate, and generally lack the funding and name recognition necessary to play large shows. But recently, publicity and support from student audiences has enabled bands to thrive on a campus level. From there, they might even make out of their efforts. With that in mind, here's a guide to this year's Yale rock scene, starting with its biggest personality.

Somewhere in between Elvis Costello and David Bowie, you'll find Abraham Levitan, TD '00, popularly known as Pearly Sweets. Along with the Platonics (Karl Tup-per, BK '00, and Carl Ehrhardt, TC '00), Pearly dishes out sweet soul and raw energy, davening behind his keyboard. He and the Platonics will play the East Haven's Shore Line Club on Sat., Oct. 9.

Levitan's career with the Platonics reflects an evolution in style from his first Yale shows as a solo act in the Calhoun Cabaret's Six Feet Under in 1996. "My friends were very supportive right from the start, which encouraged me to have my own show," Levitan said of his experience. Six Feet Under, which served as a training ground for Levitan and acoustic rocker Sam Walsh, TC '99, (among others) is Yale's most accessible venue. "Although our emphasis is on poetry and music, we hope to have some people freestyling," Six Feet Under proprietor Bidisha Banerjee, MC '02, said. Would-be performers are encouraged to contact Banerjee or her associate, Jill Ruchala, SM '02. The first show of the year is tentatively scheduled for the Thurs., Sept. 23 at 10 p.m. Less well-known artists will share the bill with Pearly Sweets and the Platonics, the Trumbull City Heartbreakers, and Arcaro (formerly Cassius). The audience will be visually stimulated as well: artwork by Danica Novgorodoff, SY '02, will adorn the freshly painted walls of the Cabaret.

But bands with the gumption and following to make separate arrangements play their own shows on or off campus. Arcaro, which consists of Joe Grimm, JE '01, Matt "Sticky" Dunkel, JE '01, and New Havenites Will Noland and Matt Quin, will follow Six Feet Under with a show at Rudy's on Fri., Oct. 8. When the Herald asked Grimm to describe Arcaro's sound, the guitarist was succinct: "Lush and beautiful dissonances, creative time signatures, gorgeously intertwining guitar lines, chaos, catharsis, and some balls-out fucking visceral rock.

Six Pack Annie also started as a Six Feet Under act, but soon took its brand of ballistic thrash 'n' crunch above ground, where they rule many a courtyard as one of Yale's premier party bands. Six Pack, which recently won an honorable mention in a Conan O'Brien college band search, will play at Toad's Place on Fri., Oct. 15.

Hrishikesh Hirway, MC '00, formerly the drummer of the indie band Pinstripe, will play at the University of Hartford on Tues., Sept, 21 as the one a.m. radio. If his solo work is as solid as his drumming, Hirway has prospects.

Many of Yale's groups have released albums as a way to push their projects past the "college band" level. Pinstripe's album has been available since March, while the trio 33.3 (guitar, drums and cello) has recorded a full-length album with the Chicago-based Aesthetics label. Pearly Sweets and the Platonics are currently readying a 14-song album, tentatively titled The Hard Pack, for a Thanksgiving release on David Slade's, TC '01, Garbage Czar record label. Arcaro will soon release a seven-inch on Massachusetts-based Pensive Records, Six Pack Annie is currently planning a five-song EP, and Yale's self-proclaimed pop stars, the Pinups (Daniel Silk and Andrew Chan, SY '01), will self-release their "A Girl Tomorrow" single late this fall.

Even now, new bands are on the horizon, relying less on collaboration and ability than on concept and attitude. Marisa Futernick, SY '02, vows that her band, The Snatch, will make a mark on the Yale music scene soon. And who knows what dreams of stardom lurk in the hearts of freshmen? Future campus shows will tell.

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