Thursday evening, Syracuse’s thriving alternative music scene will surface as three emerging bands shake the walls of the Schine Underground.

The show, co-sponsored by student-run radio station WERW and the Syracuse University chapter of Music and Entertainment Industry Student Association, will showcase three different groups: Titus Andronicus, Caveman and local favorite The Vanderbuilts.

Jeanette Wall, WERW general manager, is excited about the line up and finding new ways to reach out to listeners.

‘We are in the business of booking our favorite bands and the favorites of our listeners,’ said Wall, a junior in the Bandier Program for Music and the Entertainment Industries. ‘Titus is one of the best performances I’ve ever seen. They’re really an amazing band.’

The two organizations teamed up because they share similar models for putting on concerts, said MEISA President Lucas Sacks. WERW reached out to Titus Andronicus, and MEISA brought in Caveman through an industry connection.

‘We felt that putting our heads and resources together would create a better experience for the student body,’ said Sacks, a senior in the Bandier Program and staff writer for The Daily Orange.

The headliner for the show is Titus Andronicus. Rolling Stone magazine included these New Jersey rockers in its list of the seven best new bands of 2010. Their second album, ‘The Monitor,’ roars with the passionate folk lyrics of lead singer Patrick Stickles while the background pulses with feverish guitar riffs and drumbeats. They played at both Coachella and Lollapalooza in 2011.

Then in 2012, Titus Andronicus performed with Caveman at South by Southwest, an annual music, film and interactive conference and festival in Austin, Tezas. Caveman is a Brooklyn, N.Y. band that released their first album, ‘CoCo Beware,’ in November. This mesmerizing record features instrumental melodies and soothing, harmonious vocals.

‘We are really excited to see how people react to Caveman, who are still relatively small but growing rapidly,’ Sacks said. ‘We’re also excited just to see the concert ourselves and have fun.’

Both organizations agreed the perfect local band to open the show was The Vanderbuilts, made of a group of students enrolled in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Theirdebut album, ‘Miguel’s Orchard,’ has a complex, layered sound featuring varied instruments like the fiddle and banjo.

Lead singer and guitarist Sam Kogon said he is eager for the opportunity to perform with a rising pair of alternative rock bands. Kogon, a junior environmental studies major, is also excited about playing some new songs at the show.

Joe Ahern, a junior in the Bandier Program, believes the concert can have a meaningful effect on the local music scene.

‘I think oftentimes, the Syracuse music scene is separated from the university itself,’ he said. ‘Whenever an act comes here with mainstream and alternative popularity, it gives the university an opportunity to be an ambassador of good music for the community.’

Sacks believes the concert will present students with a unique musical experience.

‘Supporting local or new music really exposes people to so many more options and new artists,’ he said.  ‘Being open to new music is an attitude many should adopt if they haven’t already.’

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Published on March 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

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