A decade ago, they were banging on pots and pans and messing around with dime-store guitars, but now they're selling out venues in New York, Chicago and Princeton.
Four University students, Anthony D'Amato '10, Phyllis Heitjan '10, Jason Harper '09 and Steven Kim '09 each balance a semiprofessional music career with academic work.
Each has a true "study hard, play hard" mentality. All four are singer-songwriters with myspace.com pages filled with raving reviews from adoring fans. All of them were in high school bands before coming to Princeton and have since searched for their own musical identities.
Their majors range from English to chemistry; their instruments cover the spectrum from guitar and keyboard to banjo and mandolin. Three are soloists, and one is in a band. Some produce songs in studios, while others work in the comfort of their dorm room.
Anthony D'Amato '10
Freshman singer-songwriter Anthony D'Amato sports the unruly hair and modest grin of a rock star.
In March, he opened for Jesse Malin at a sold-out show at Philadelphia's Tin Angel and headlined at Niagara and the Bitter End in New York.
D'Amato writes and records solo in his room. His songwriting process begins by first setting up a melody, then figuring out the lyrics. "I'm constantly writing," he said. "I just set up a microphone and preamp ... whenever my roommate is out of the room, I just sit down and start recording stuff."
He started playing the piano in elementary school, and his father bought him a guitar in fifth grade. He plays the guitar, bass, harmonica, keyboard and banjo.
"It's a lot of fun," he said. "I can't really remember a time before I had a guitar. I can't remember a time when I wasn't playing music. I like to get up on stage, and seeing how people react, if they react."
He plans to major in English and faces the challenge of finding time to finish schoolwork between shows. "Sometimes shows last all weekend, and I don't get back until late Sunday night," he said. "I start my weekly homework at midnight."
He has a grounded perspective about potentially going professional.
"Going professional would be fun," D'Amato said. "That's an ideal dream job, but it's one of those things that's a long shot for anyone."
Phyllis Heitjan '10
Phyllis Heitjan '10 has released two albums and has played at venues near and far.
She has opened for John Eddie at Tin Angel and performed at the Stone Pony in Asbury Park, N.J., where Bruce Springsteen got his start. This semester, she has played at about 20 colleges, ranging in distance from Denver to Drew University.
"Phyllis is an absolute natural at writing songs and performing," Jessica Rodriguez '10 said. "Her lyrics are great, and her melodies are really catchy."
Heitjan began writing her own music in high school. She put out her second album during the spring of her senior year, arranging vocals and playing acoustic and bass guitar, drums and piano on the album.
"I sang all the harmonies, I played all the instruments," she said. "I just locked myself in [my] room for [the] winter basically."
Heitjan has been performing for most of her adolescence and enjoys sharing her talent.
"It's really cool to see how surprised people are and how enthusiastic they get. There's a lot of Princeton love," she said.
Heitjan plans on majoring in English. She is on the road nearly every week but manages to study on buses and planes. Heitjan meets with professors at the beginning of the semester so they are aware of her schedule.
"My psych midterm was on the same day as one of the shows I had," she said. "I talked to the professor to make it up ... As far as balancing goes, I didn't dumb down my schedule at all. The only adjustments I made were for time, days wise."
Heitjan is realistic about the prospects of going professional.
"It's really difficult to go professional without funding from a big label," she said. "I don't think that's a decision I'm going to necessarily make until I'm out of college or until I'm facing a record deal of some sort."
Jason Harper '09 and 'In the Vein of Tom Levin'
Sophomore Jason Harper takes a different approach to music than his former bandmates Steven Kim '09 and Zach Marr '09.
Harper has professional aspirations, while Kim and Marr are more interested in music as a hobby. "Jason definitely has the most drive to head in [a professional] direction," Kim said.
His bittersweet lyrics and vocals mixed with intricate guitar work evoke the music of deceased singer-songwriter Nick Drake.
Harper describes his music as acoustically driven and classically and operatically themed. He has played at several Illinois venues, opening and headlining shows. His largest audience was at a festival with an audience of over 700 people. Around campus, he has performed at Cafe Viv, Wu Hall and Terrace Club.
Money is not a major concern for Harper. When Terrace offered him a paycheck for his gig, he refused. "It's totally about the music, money wasn't an issue," he said.
Harper is strongly influenced by his brother, Barron Harper, whose band is currently on the Billboard Top 200. As for future plans to go professional, Harper said, "There's definitely a temptation, a desire to do something more public with music."
Kim and Marr have a more lighthearted approach to their music. This year, they started a band called "In the Vein of Tom Levin," named after the German professor. Kim joked that the band's inspiration was how Jason Harper behaved after two beers.
"We haven't been too proactive about putting posters up around campus to advertise," Kim said. "The most we've done is make a facebook[.com] event."
Their music features Marr on guitar and vocals and Kim on guitar and violin.
"It's refreshing to hear college music that's not just acoustic guitar and four guys rocking out," Erica Wojcik '09 said. "They write really intelligent music."
Kim views performance as cathartic, allowing him to relax and entertain friends.
"I have to go through all these structured rehearsals for orchestra," he said. "At times, I just want to let loose with the electric guitar."
Kim added that the pressures of school have prevented him from devoting more time to performing.
"I would love to put in more time to music," Kim said. "The fact of the matter is I barely have enough time to juggle orchestra and academics."
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