As a person who learned the hard way that he has little musical talent, I listen to a lot of music to make up for my lack of ability. Sure, listening to Spotify is great (if you have a premium membership), but listening to live music can give one an experience that streaming music simply cannot. I reported earlier this semester that live concert tickets for national and international artists have recently spiked in price, and considering such a spike concluded that now is a great time to search for entertainment locally. On February 19, WFNM (F&M’s own radio organization) hosted its first “Ben’s Bands” in years. I had the opportunity to drop by Ben’s Underground and check out what this once-tradition here at F&M would look like—or, rather, what it would sound like.
The premise of Ben’s Bands is as follows: invite some local bands (in addition to those coming from F&M) to take turns playing some of their songs so that they can spread the word about their music. For this Ben’s Bands, WFNM hosted three bands: Hole Milk (an Emo band from PA), Monk Mode (a rock band from Millersville) and Clockwork (an alt-rock band from F&M). One of the first things that I noticed when I arrived at Ben’s Underground, before the jamming began, was how everyone present sought to engage socially, especially those in the bands. The members of the bands also engaged very positively with each other, offering kind words of support and encouragement. As an event, Ben’s Bands seemed to bring out the kindest, most sociable version of everyone present.
Hole Milk stepped up to the mic first and gave the audience an interesting variety of fast- and moderate-paced tempos. Supporters of Hole Milk started moshing before too long, leaving some of the F&M students in attendance confused and concerned, but many soon began to do the same with their friends. In between songs, Hole Milk condemned ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and the response from the crowd signaled passionate agreement. Hole Milk played excellently, and their drums complemented the loud melodies well. Different from the other two bands, Hole Milk played much shorter segments of songs, but the crowd loved all they played. You can find some of Hole Milk’s music on Spotify and Apple Music.
Monk Mode followed Hole Milk with vocals a bit mellower. Monk Mode’s melodies sounded very original, and one could tell by listening that they are clever and tech-savvy musicians. Unlike Hole Milk, Monk Mode opted to play longer segments of songs, and guitarist and vocalist Luke Blango even played around with convincing the audience that the song had ended before taking up a new melody. Monk Mode made the intimacy of the setting feel more significant, as Blango told a punny joke to the audience between songs. The drums really shone through during each of Monk Mode’s songs, adding a satisfying but nuanced rhythm. Towards the end of Monk Mode’s turn, the vocalists turned up the heat and really impressed. You can check out some of Monk Mode’s music on Spotify, Apple Music and Soundcloud.
Last to play was F&M’s own band, Clockwork. Clockwork’s performance was truly captivating, both because they really know how to play and because frontman Carl Kamdin pulled some tricks out of the bag. Early on, and again later, he dropped and did a static knee slide as he continued to shred. Later on, he gave away his hat and even removed his shirt. Bassist Milo Cabral didn’t attempt the same stunts but stole the show with his incredible skill. Justin Lizana showed his excellent skills on the drums when he teased the audience by keeping a song crawling on. Henry Ludger showed incredible skill picking out a consistent melody at the top of the fretboard. You can listen to Clockwork’s new EP, “4100,” on Bandcamp.
Ben’s Bands was a great event to gather students and locals who really appreciate music and the social connections it can bring about. Think about supporting your local musicians (even by just listening to them) and look out for more events from WFNM. There’s simply no excuse to dismiss local music when the local music happens just underneath the dining hall.
Junior Charlie Burns is the Editorials Editor. His email is cburns1@fandm.edu.