February 2 , 2006
FeaturesMCC bands promote talents on Internet and at local gigs
Dynagroove. The Ijfs. For The Moment. On any given night you might find one of these bands pouring out their souls on stage as part of the Valley’s music scene.
During the day they can be found right here on campus involved in MCC’s music program.
Not only are these bands playing gigs around town, they are also recording their music and putting it on the Internet with hopes of gaining a wider audience.
With the advent of web sites such as Myspace.com and purevolume.com, aspiring bands can put their music out there for the whole world to hear.
After a performance in central Phoenix, MCC’s own Dustin Yoes, drummer of For The Moment, explained that putting their music on these web sites resulted in a record label contacting them and expressing interest in the band.
“Revlis Records is sponsoring a showcase here in town where they set up and they have all these different record execs and people who sign bands come in and you get to play for them. So we’re doing that on February 17,” Yoes said.
When he’s not laying down the thunderous beat in For The Moment, Yoes is a music major involved in four different performing groups at MCC: concert band, big band, and two small ensembles.
Lead singer, Kevin Austin, said that the local police have taken interest in a few of For The Moment’s practice sessions, not to hang around and listen but usually to request that they “close the garage door.”
Three of the band’s songs can be heard at purevolume.com.
The Iifs (an acronym for In It For Sex) is another band hailing from MCC.
Having a sound that is influenced by The Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, and punk rock, they have recently finished recording songs at a local studio.
Rene Chacon, singer and guitarist for The Iifs, said that the studio is owned and operated by one of their friends, and that there were challenges along the way but ultimately they were happy with the outcome of the recordings.
“I think the biggest challenge was staying sober,” Chacon said.
Josh Kneisel, also a singer and guitarist for the band, said that one of his influences is reggae music.
“I listen to a lot of reggae too,” Kneisel said. “I don’t sing with a Jamaican accent or anything. As much as I’d like to, I don’t think they’d allow it.”
One of their songs can be heard on the Internet by going to Myspace.com.
“At first we were going to be a ska band,” Chacon said of The Iifs, “but we couldn’t get any horn players.”
A band that definitely was able to find some horn players is MCC’s Dynagroove, a funky, high-energy group of talented musicians performing both original music and covers.
Trombonist, Brian Weingartner, and Saxophonist, Emily Wolf, describe the band as funk-based multi-genre fusion, influenced by Earth Wind and Fire, Tower of Power, and Stevie Wonder.
“The fun beats and the horns and everything just kind of brings a sense of euphoria to the people who like that kind of thing,” Weingartner explained. “They just want to move and have fun.”
That sense of euphoria can be witnessed firsthand at their live performances.
Most of the musicians in all three of these bands are studying music or recording at MCC.
They are also taking advantage of the private lessons offered at the college.
“The music program at MCC is getting really big,” Dustin Yoes claims. “You can also get private lessons on a lot of instruments.”
To find out more about these bands, go to Myspace.com and search for the band’s name under music.
Volume 43, Issue 9. Today is
MCC band: For the Moment jams out at a local gig.
Photo by Craig Dater