From the basement of a house in Allston, a band is prepping for its biggest gig yet. In a cramped space with dim lighting, Marshall amps are stacked on top of each other and old drumheads and gold symbols line the concrete walls. It’s here that The Help will churn out its brand of loud, guitar-driven pop rock, a sound more suited for arenas than basements.
But in less than a week, the quartet of twentysomethings – including a Northeastern student – will get that chance.
In a contest held by OurStage, The Help won a prime slot to open Saturday’s Radio 92.9 EarthFest, an annual festival that aims to raise awareness for the environment. This marks the first time a local act will perform on the Main Stage. They will also perform a set on EarthFest’s smaller Boston Music Stage.
During the course of five weeks, starting in April, about 120,000 people cast their votes for the band’s catchy, pop-rock ditty, “On Hold” from 331 song entries, said Dana Marshall, Radio 92.9’s program director.
The win surprised the band. Help guitarist and junior business major Mark Brozek, 21, said they “alternated between giggling and screaming,” when they found out. Once they received the e-mail from OurStage, a Myspace-like promotional website for bands, it became official.
“It did not immediately set in for any of us,” said Dan Adams, The Help’s 22-year-old drummer. “But it kind of came in waves over the next two hours. It would be like, ‘All right, we got it.’ Then we’d just be freaking out 10 minutes later and back to sitting at the table thinking about what we had to do.”
EarthFest is co-sponsored by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and will feature vendors and nonprofit organizations showcasing environmentally-friendly products and promoting green living. Major and local acts are slated to perform, and this year, Cake will close the Main Stage concert. The day-long celebration typically draws 100,000 people to the Hatch Shell by the Charles River, according to the website.
With that in mind, Alex Gaynor, 21, lead singer and guitarist of The Help, said the band has organized a marketing strategy in addition to preparing for the performance. They will pass out flyers and copies of their latest EP, A Stunning Display of Athleticism, in hopes of reaching new fans, and potential record label executives.
“This is a huge opportunity, but it’s only as much of an opportunity as we make it,” he said. “It’s up to us to take advantage of it.”
Though they admit they don’t always consciously practice green living, they all agree that protecting the environment is important, and see EarthFest as an opportunity to promote a positive message that resonates with many people.
“As far as the environment, I think that’s the easiest place to find a middle ground on, because that’s just about making the space that you live in nice,” said Will Cady, The Help’s 21-year-old bassist and a Berklee College of Music student.
Brozek said any environmentally-friendly measures he and his bandmates have adopted have motives that are less altruistic.
“Realistically, the biggest reason that I would consider us to be at all environmentally conservative is that we don’t really have money to pay for things,” Brozek joked. “We try to conserve heat, we try to conserve water, we try to conserve everything because we don’t have the funds to pay for it.”
With influences from ’90s alternative rock, the quartet grew up in Acton and have been playing together for nine years. In the eighth grade, they were tapped to open for Dispatch, an opportunity given to them after they reached out to the Boston-based band asking to play at a hometown charity event.
Through the years, they’ve released a handful of EPs and played gigs mostly in Boston, recently at venues like Harpers Ferry and TT the Bear’s Place. During his freshman year, Brozek said they built their core fan base during practice sessions in the basement of Kennedy Hall.
They officially practice twice a week, but for the foursome, the band is a full-time job.
“If we’re not playing, we’re designing stickers, CD covers, press releases and all that kind of stuff,” Adams said.
As record sales decline nationwide, marketing tactics have evolved, like licensing songs for commercials. While some bands might be uncomfortable with this changing musical landscape, The Help sees it positively.
“We haven’t felt constrained by it at all,” Adams said. “If anything, we felt like it’s awesome, because now, instead of having only one path to being a successful band, there are a lot of paths. And not only are there a lot of paths, but we can make our own path.”
Each of the band’s members has separate responsibilities outside The Help. Brozek and Cady are students, Gaynor is a Starbucks barista and Adams is a host at a local Irish pub. But they agree the long-term goal is to make the band a career.
“There’s no obvious ceiling on our ambitions,” Adams said. “We just take it one step at a time.”
