mesa legend - FEATURES - Fender Music finds star quality in MCC’s Scuba Kats

May 2 ,2006
FEATURES
Fender Music finds star quality in MCC’s Scuba Kats

Trevor Denton
Mesa Legend

MCC’s Scuba Kats provides a way for music students to experience music business firsthand. The Scuba Kats is a performing group, made up of students, that covers all angles of being a part of the music industry.
Open to all students who wish to audition, the group is an excellent way of gaining experience and credibility for those pursuing careers in the music field.
We are a self-contained group, and our focus is to perform,” said Kristina Makris, the instructor of the course. The group is set up like any non-school band might operate, booking gigs at various venues and events across the valley.
“They each sign a contract that says they know they might have a two week notice to play a show,” Makris said.
The Scuba Kats aren’t just a band; they are an entire music business body.
There are students involved in operating the Scuba Kats behind the scenes as well.
The group is made up of about 20 people: 6 instrumentalists, 6 vocalists, 4 live sound engineers, and 4 students who deal with management, marketing, and promoting.
Makris said that the Scuba Kats play an important role in the representation of MCC.
“We serve as ambassadors all around Maricopa County for MCC. When we play out, we also try to educate people about the college.”
The group performs a wide variety of musical styles. Makris described their repertoire as vintage American popular music.
“It’s a huge umbrella, I know. But we play songs that vary from Billie Holiday to Janis Joplin,” Makris said. “We’ve got blues, jazz, country, bluegrass… whatever our performers are capable of.”
An indication of the success of the group is shown by a recent sponsorship deal the Scuba Kats made with Fender Musical Instruments Corporation for the 2006-07 school year.
Fender has offered to provide instruments and other gear for the group to use. In exchange, the Scuba Kats will promote Fender by advertising their name and instruments at shows and other events.
“It brings validity to what we do here with music business. We get to practice what we learn in class,” Makris said.
The deal was made through an effort of the Scuba Kats in asking Fender to work with them on several different levels.
“We gave them a bunch of proposals,” Makris said. “You know, we figured we’d shoot for the moon and hope to maybe catch a couple stars.”
Another one of the opportunities the band has is a chance to go on tour this summer.
They will be making a trip to Orlando, Florida to perform as well as participating in activities and performances at Disney All-Star Music Resort, Disney World, and the well-known audio production school, Full Sail School of Recording Arts.
Open auditions for the Scuba Kats are being held at 1 p.m. on May 20 in MCC’s music building. Makris will be auditioning performers and holding interviews for those who wish to participate.