The University of Rhode Island’s Musician’s Guild welcomed the new school year with their first concert of the semester last Friday when three bands from Providence took the stage in the Memorial Union Ballroom.
The opening acts, the Benjis and U.G.L.Y., played for about 30 minutes apiece, after which the headliner, Math the Band, played for nearly an hour.
“Tonight it’s more of, like, a pop punk show. I think it’s gonna be cool because it’s got that vibe of like getting back to school and stuff like that,” said Cameron Hart, one of the seniors running the Guild this year. “I’d say it’s usually, like 90 percent of the time, indie rock or punk rock bands. We do have the outlier, but I do like how we have a lot of variety. We ran a pretty heavy, hardcore show two years ago, when we could run shows. And that’s fun because we get a different crowd there.”
According to their group description on the URI student organizations website, the Musician’s Guild “aims to support music in all forms by providing local musicians an open venue to perform for the student body and community of Rhode Island.”
Hart described their concerts as DIY, or do-it-yourself concerts held anywhere in the Union. While events are usually held in the atrium, it’s currently being used as a COVID-19 testing site, hence the use of the ballroom.
“Usually, it’s just local bands, but we like to have some national bands, like once or twice a year,” Hart said. “Once a month, we mainly like to run one big show, and then we like to sprinkle in open mics in between those.”
Jack Petit, lead singer of U.G.L.Y., summarized the vibe of the concert very succinctly.
“We’re all playing the music that we like to play and not caring about what anybody thinks,” Petit said.
Membership in the Guild isn’t just a matter of helping set up events though, according to Hart. The members vote on who they want to perform through a yearly poll, which he believes is the main draw to the organization.
Being devoted to music, the group takes the responsibility of selecting bands very seriously.
“These are all bands that perform their own original material,” Hart said. “It’s kind of a rule, we don’t like cover bands playing. It’s just kinda not the environment that we want.”
Liam Drumm has been with the Guild for the past couple years and added that they try not to have the same band play more than once in a year to get variety in performers.
If you’re interested in music or gigging, the Musician’s Guild offers unique opportunities to build experience.
“It’s a lot of practical skills, right?” senior Guild member Matt Tyler said. “Because what you’re doing in there, you’re setting up audio, you’re networking with bands, you’re setting up, organizing events; and so, if you’re a freshman, if you wanna learn, you’re into music and stuff, you can learn a lot. So it’s pretty cool.”
And if you’re looking to jam, the Musician’s Guild’s room in the basement of the Union is the spot you’re seeking.
“The Guild owns a drum kit,” Drumm said. “It’s kind of garbage, but it’s ours.”
Each of the bands’ most recent releases, the Benjis’ single “Battery,” U.G.L.Y.’s LP “Goons Live Young” and Math the Band’s record “Flange Factory Five,” can be streamed on your music platform of choice right now.
If joining the Guild sounds up your alley, meetings are Thursdays at 8:00 p.m. in Memorial Union 124.