|
Jim Russell on drums with his band A Month of Sundays.
|
 |
Mason's Lesser-Known Musicians Abound
By Kiley Cogis
Many George Mason faculty and staff members have found ways to fulfill their
creative needs apart from academia through music. Whether playing at local bars,
performing solo, or producing CDs in a studio, these faculty and staff members
understand the importance of music in their daily lives.
Mike O'Malley (bass) and Matt Karush (lead guitar) are members of George Mason's
History and Art History Department and, along with Mark Hirsch (drums) and Charlie
McGovern (vocals and guitar), make up the band B-Sides. The band has been together
for four or five years, traditionally playing less well-known songs and mixing
old country, blues, and soul.
"People used to make music a part of their daily life - now it's been
killed by the mass marketing of CDs," says O'Malley. He likes to think of
"music-making as a community thing."
The band's biggest challenge is "getting everybody together," says
O'Malley. The four Ph.D.'s in history, as they often refer to themselves, find
free time hard to come by. And now that Karush and his wife are expecting a baby,
the band must put aside their musical endeavors for a while.
Another Mason community member who takes time out for music is Rebecca Walter,
associate director of the Women's Studies Research and Resource Center. Walter
performs solo at such campus functions as Community Fest and Take Back the Night,
She likes taking part in campus activities to get exposure for the Women's Center
and for students to see her in another capacity than just her job.
Walter has been a musician since 1995. Only recently has she begun performing
solo as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Musically, her sound is "dark
and moody," and the lyrics are mostly "pro-femme," she says.
She was one of only 25 people asked to audition as a background vocal and
bass for the band Hole when Melissa Auf de Maur was expected to join the Smashing
Pumpkins. A friend mentioned to Walter that Hole was looking for musicians, so
she sent a CD, photos, and a bio to the band. A month later she got a call back
and went to Hollywood. "The band was really nice," says Walter. Courtney
Love was not there, but Walter did play "Violet" and "Celebrity
Skin" with the rest of the band.
Jim Russell, assistant director of the Purchasing and Accounts Payable Department,
is the drummer and a backup vocal for the band A Month of Sundays. Other band
members include Chris Russell (guitar, bass, and keyboards), Brad Brooks (guitar
and bass), and Ed Moreland (lead vocal and guitar). Jim Russell, Brooks, and Chris
Russell grew up together, playing in various bands.
The group stopped performing when Jim Russell joined the army around the time
of the Gulf War. After returning, he met Moreland, who was working as a lobbyist
on Capitol Hill. With Moreland's vocals, the band decided to get back together
and produce a CD. It took almost a year of practicing and recording to finish
what they believed they could do in a weekend at the studio. Their CD "Click"
came out a week before the Sept. 11th attacks.
Most of the songs on the CD are original. The exceptions are "Love Disappears"
by Jeffrey Gaines and "Me and Bobby McGee," which took the longest time
to record. The band decided that each member could write whatever he wanted. This
way, the band "would never get stuck in one style," says Jim Russell.
He considers the group's sound to be "a sort of R.E.M. on caffeine."
Rich Rubenstein, a professor at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution,
played piano during his college days. "The college assigned me to a room
with a bassist and drummer. We became a trio," he says. He played throughout
college and for two years in England where he was a Rhodes scholar. Rubenstein
grew up surrounded by music and shares this love with his family. His father sang
on the radio during the depression, and his sister wrote lyrics and some of the
music to Way Out West, a musical based on the life of Mae West, which will
open in New York sometime in the future. His son Matthew is a professional classical
pianist in Berlin, and his daughters, Hannah and Shana, play drums and saxophone.
"I play mainly for my own pleasure and write some of my own music,"
he says, "but lately I have had a chance to play professionally again."
While enjoying a bagel and the jazz brunch at the Main Street Deli in Fairfax,
he mentioned to the owner that he played jazz piano and keyboard. An audition
led to his first performance on Nov. 4, where Rubenstein shared billing with a
fashion show.
Rubenstein says his style is mainly progressive jazz, and he performs jazz
versions of the standards, classics from Gershwin, Cole Porter, Thelonius Monk,
and Horace Silver. On a recent visit to Cuba, he "fell in love with Cuban
jazz" and has added Latin tunes to his repertoire. He's been invited back
to perform at the deli this spring.
From time to time, Rubenstein will play with groups, or "sit in."
Lately, he has been too busy finishing a book to spend time on music. "Playing
is mainly a fun thing to do," he says. "I'm not going to quit my day
job."
Fran Rensbarger contributed to this
article.
|
