April 16, 2012
April Wefler
[email protected]
When senior Mark Young realized that he couldn’t envision himself sitting in front of a computer for five years, he decided to change his major from engineering to music. Now, he’s the president and co-founder of the Musician’s Society.
For Young, the power of music can’t be emulated or replaced. “If I throw on a Pink Floyd album and I listen to it, it can totally make my day better. To have the kind of power that portrays is huge.”
He and fellow music lover Jay Baker questioned why there wasn’t a place on-campus where musicians could meet with other musicians. Baker pointed out, “We’re seniors, so how are we going to meet freshmen?”
Young and Baker, along with a couple of their friends, decided to form the Musician’s Society. They wanted to use the group to give musicians a venue and somewhere to connect with each other.
Recently, the Musician’s Society held an open mic night in Clyde’s. The group was taken aback by people who were not in the music program showing up to support them and said it was a phenomenal turnout.
“We’re completely open to people. We don’t think it’s good for music to exclude people who are inspired by it,” said Young.
The Musician’s Society boasts an assortment of instruments. Young plays acoustic and electric guitar, while Baker plays bass. Additionally, there is piano, computer mixing, a couple drummers and even a violinist.
Both Young and Baker are influenced by a variety of music artists. For Young, it’s Omar Rodriguez Lopez, Conor Oberst, Elliott Smith, David Gilmore and Jimi Hendrix.
Baker also enjoys Elliott Smith, as well as Paul Chambers, Ray Brown and Spirit. “Flea was the first bass player I ever loved,” said Baker.
Although the group plays primarily rock, folk and jazz music, both Baker and Young said they don’t dislike any music genres.
“You can’t discount an entire genre,” said Young. “There’s always people in that genre that are doing something groundbreaking.”
The Musician’s Society is hosting a barbecue/potluck/concert series on April 28.
“We want it to highlight where the music area is and show people what the group does and what our focus is,” said Young. “Hopefully a lot of people will bring cool stuff and just listen to music.”
Baker and Young also have a folk acoustic singer/songwriter duo called The Great Patrol and a rock group with three other people. Additionally, Baker participates in an honors jazz trio and a free improv trio called Verse.
“It’s like magic to me all the time,” said Baker. “Music makes sense to me creatively.”
The Musician’s Society meets at 3 p.m. every first and third Friday in University Hall 168. “If you have any interest at all, hit us up,” said Young. Anyone interested in joining can contact Young at [email protected].