From watching behind the scenes footage on VH1 and interviews on MTV to reading Rolling Stone and other popular music magazines, our generation has been the audience for The Beatles' rise as a pop culture legend, Jimi Hendrix's revolution of the electronic guitar solo and Bob Dylan's ascent to an American folk-music icon.
We have also witnessed unfortunate declines such as deaths of Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, Sublime's Brad Nowell and The Beatles' John Lennon.
Having opened on the Street for American Hi Fi, SR-71, Maroon 5 and Ben Mizer, drummer for The Counting Crows, the four members of the student band Fabled not only confirm the talents of Princeton's young student musicians but also present a fresh version of the average struggling-musician story.
As Princeton students, there is no doubt that each of Fabled's members — Aaron Ellerbee '04, Dan Siegfried '05, Tim Skerpon '03 and Matt Nickoloff '03 — is academically talented as well as musically inclined.
The name Fabled was chosen by randomly searching through children's books and circling appealing words or phrases. By the end of the night, "fabled" was selected.
The "Who"
Each member of the band has a different story to tell about how they became interested in music.
Siegfried started playing the piano when he was 10 and then switched to the drums; since seventh grade, he has been in and out of rock bands.
His parents have taken him to concerts in London to see The Who, Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, and enthusiastically support Siegfried's love of music.
Nickoloff's interest in music is expressed by his active participation in several music organizations on campus, such as the Princeton Glee Club and Katzenjammers, in which he continues to exercise and enhance his vocals.
In addition, Nickoloff has experimented with instruments such as the mandolin and piano and played the trumpet in the Jazz Ensemble during his first two years at Princeton.
Ellerbee and Skerpon both began playing in their high school bands; Skerpon, in particular, figured out a way to hook his flute up to an amp so that he could play in bands until he perfected the guitar.
Of course, being a Princeton student is not the edge Fabled throws out for publicity. They prefer to keep their intelligence-mystique to a minimum and instead aim for a "cool and tough" image as Siegfried, Fabled's drummer joked.
But the image of the band (and any type of presentation or forced appearance for that matter) is set aside in order to genuinely perform for the audience.
"We like to go on stage and have fun. We don't rehearse dance-steps before the show or learn mike-tricks. We perform by reacting to the music," remarked Skerpon, one of the band's guitarists and vocalists, and also well-known as Avril Lavigne's "boyfriend" in this year's joke issue of The Daily Prince-tonian.
Though it may not have been "cool and tough," when asked to name their musical influences and top five records of all-time, with childish glee each band member began spouting out favorite songs and record albums such as "Achtung Baby" by U2, "Recovering the Satellites" by the Counting Crows, "Natty Dred" by Bob Marley and "Legend of Chin" by Switchfoot.
The "Where"
Although Fabled plays most gigs off-campus, they always enjoy playing concerts on the Street. On Feb. 22, Quad hosted one of Princeton's many on-campus performances by well-known musicians — Fabled opened for Ben Mizer, drummer for the Counting Crows. The crowd began pouring into Quad to see the concert before Fabled had completely set up.
Wallace Allen Green III, also known as Trey, wandered into Quad before Fabled performed and quickly began complimenting the band.
"These guys are great," he said. "Good times and good music. I even hang out at practices to listen to Fabled." Trey proudly informed me that the last song of the evening entitled "Wallace" was named in honor of him.
Though he is Siegfried's roommate, Trey is not the only fan of the band. Often playing in Trenton at the club, The Conduit, Fabled carries a large and consistent group of fans throughout the area.
"Their shows are a great mix of their own songs and some really cool covers," Katharine Zandy '03 said. "The guys are really fun, and they really love what they do."
The "What"
Though unique in their own right, at times the music of Fabled can be described as a cross between the softer sounds of the Counting Crows on their album "Recovering the Satellites," the punk-energy of Weezer and maybe even the sentiments of Dashboard Confessional. Heavily influenced by U2, lyrics are often simple and delicate.
There is not one theme that unifies songs such as "Jump-Start," "Dear Linnea" and "Eleven," nor one word that completely describes Fabled's style. Skerpon wrote most of the old songs when Fabled was first getting started, but new material is a product of the entire band's genius.
"That is the beauty of a band, that it is not one person, but rather, a chorus of individuals speaking four different tongues, bass, guitar, drums, vocals, and out of the void arises a voice, out of confusion comes form, and out of the chaos comes creation," Nickoloff said.
But behind the literal lines of the lyrics, there seems to be a concern for the vulnerability of need for people and dreams in general.
Blessed with different faiths and views on life and music, the diversity within the group inspires and prepares Fabled to speak to a more diverse audience.
Important to the band is using the music to speak to people where they are at and elevate them to seek something beyond that as well.
The best thing a band can do, as Nickoloff expressed, "rather than preach a sermon or proclaim a belief, is to get people to feel emotions, and then to ask questions about those emotions."
Undoubtedly, each member is energetic and enthusiastic about music, and in many ways, the vibrant personalities of its members provide Fabled with the creative energy necessary to engage their audience and perform passionately in concert.
The band aims to use money from gigs to record a CD in the summer. Until then, for more info about the band or to hear demos, check out its website www.fabled.cjb.net.
Read More
Princeton Zoning Board of Adjustment approves renovations to Tower and Charter Clubs
Sena Chang and Isaac BernsteinOn March 27, the Municipality of Princeton’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved construction developments for Tower Club and Charter Club. Renovations for both clubs are aimed towards improving accessibility.
On March 27, the Municipality of Princeton’s Zoning Board of Adjustment approved construction developments for Tower Club and Charter Club. Renovations for both clubs are aimed towards improving accessibility.
Students support local businesses with new platform Zage
Jack AllenAfter hearing about the struggles faced by a number of these restaurants after students left campus in mid-March, Dilbagi created Zage, an online platform that allows community members to send money to local businesses now to redeem as credits on their purchases in the future.
This fall, go beyond the 'Bubble'
Dora ZhaoEven though classes are picking up, weekends are the perfect time for students to escape the Orange Bubble. While going out to eat on Nassau is enjoyable, there is so much to see beyond Princeton. For those looking for a day trip or a chance to explore the area outside of Princeton, here is a list of ideas to do this fall.