By Gal Tziperman-Lotan
Classes were out for Thanksgiving break, but afterHOURS was filled with eco-friendly music enthusiasts who came to see student bands Modal Citizens and Goosepimp Orchestra last Tuesday night.
The concert was sponsored by Students for Environmental Action (SEA).
“We’re hoping to have fun, raise awareness about environmental injustice and some money for ACE (Alternatives for Community and Environment),” said Nicole Stewart, a junior industrial engineering major and SEA outreach coordinator.
ACE, a Roxbury-based organization, brings Boston residents together for environmental justice issues, said Khalida Smalls, interim executive director for ACE.
SEA sold $5 T-shirts designed and stenciled by freshman civil and environmental engineering major Bobby Meskill to benefit ACE.
Students could also make their own Goosepimp Orchestra shirts with stencils made by Rick Shaw of Goosepimp Productions, a group of the band’s fans that does its artwork and promotions, before the show in the Curry Student Center West Addition. By the end of the night, SEA raised $130.
Senior Jeremy Hanson, a political science major who is interning in ACE’s member communications department, said working for the organization is “inspiring.”
“It’s such a great environment and the organization has so many good people linked to it,” he said.
When SEA decided to hold a fundraiser for ACE and feature Goosepimp Orchestra, Hanson asked if Modal Citizens, an indie rock band that he plays bass for, could perform too.
Modal Citizens guitarist Cole Goughary, a senior multimedia studies and music technology major, stepped onto the stage armed with eight effects pedals and wearing bright orange pants. He was joined by Hanson and drummer Gareth Middlebrook, a senior music and ethnomusicology major.
“Aren’t aviators cool?” Goughary asked, adjusting his sunglasses between songs.
“You look like Bono,” someone in the crowd yelled.
The audience members clustered around the small, round tables in front of the stage and attentively listened to the set.
“If we only had to play benefit concerts, we’d do it,” Goughary said. “Anytime we’re playing for someone else’s benefit is incredible. It’s what our group is all about.”
SEA members also enjoyed the show while working to raise money.
“I liked Modal Citizens. The first song was kind of rough, but then they eased into it,” said Jesse Winans, a senior electrical engineering major and SEA member.
At the end of the band’s set, Hanson introduced a short video about ACE’s mission, which played quietly in the background as the audience talked and Goosepimp Orchestra set up.
The seven-member Goosepimp Orchestra, self-described on its MySpace page as a “Psychedelic/ Latin/ Funk” group, took the stage and kicked off with “You’re Never Too Young to have Vietnam Flashbacks.”
The audience pushed aside the tables in front of the stage and began toe-tapping, arm-waving and hip-shaking to the beat.
For the final song, “Forinho Magic,” the band invited audience members to come dance on stage with them.
“The show was awesome. There was more energy and more people than usual,” said Leah Rosen, a senior environmental geology major.
“Goosepimp Orchestra continues to impress me,” said Eric Siegmann, a junior technical engineering major who has seen the group before. “They just keep getting better since I first heard them two and a half years ago.”
Bob Greel, who plays keys and percussion for Goosepimp Orchestra and is a senior architecture major, said he appreciates the friends and fans of the band.
“Our friends are freaks, and when you find other freaks like you, it is so important to keep them close,” he said. “All we do is show the good energy that’s already there.”
