Princeton University is known for their intense academic program
making it number one on U.S. News and
World Report 2012 college rankings. However,
Princeton students are not just spending their time studying in the library. On
the contrary, these students manage to find time to participate in a wide range
of activities including starting their own band. Burne Holiday, an alternative
rock band, is a group of Princeton students who balance a rigorous academic schedule
with being in a band.
Before
starting their own band, Joey Edelmann, Cory Furlong, Nathan Tyrell, and Javier
Masis met when they performed together with the Princeton University Rock
Ensemble (PURE). PURE is musical group sponsored by the university, but these
few musical artists decided to take that idea one step further.
Cory Furlong, guitarist and
vocalist, tells how PURE brought the group together.
“We played together in that [PURE]
format for a while,” said Cory, “Once we became friends, collaboration along
original dimensions was kind of inevitable. As a musician, there is always a
desire to write your own music, and it’s a lot easier to do when you have
skilled musicians to do it with.”
The group has been gaining momentum
since its conceptualization back in spring 2011. This past year has been
especially productive since they started booking venues on campus and on
Princeton’s fabled eating club circuit.
When asked to share the best
show that Burne Holiday has performed, Joey Edelmann, was excited to share his experience
at playing in on campus event this past February.
“Definitely ‘This Is Princeton,’ which was a
student showcase event for alumni weekend at the Richardson Auditorium….,” said
Joey, another vocalist and guitarist in the group, “We performed two of our
original songs (“Static” and “Rero”) to our largest crowd yet, and everyone was
extremely receptive to us, which is great. It was a moment of validation and
encouragement for all the work we had put into writing the songs."
Check out Burne Holiday playing at "This Is Princeton" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHt2St7EdjE.
Not only does the group participate
in on campus events, but they have also been performing on Princeton’s fabled
eating club circuit. Burne Holiday has performed at such locations as Princeton
Charter Club, Princeton Quadrangle Club, and has recently been invited to play
at Princeton Art Museum.
While the group has been able to
get some bookings, they still do find difficulty competing with other
performances according to Javier Masis, drummer.
“The clubs are not very receptive
to live music, and as of late tend to prefer student DJs playing top 40 hits,”
said Javier, “That’s not to say that students wouldn’t like to see live
bands–we’ve had lots of heart-warming support from students we know and don’t
know…”
While Burne Holiday has been
booking a few shows over the year, the group has really been focusing on
writing original songs to perform and record. Joey and Cory claim that the band has big plans for the upcoming summer and
next year now the recording has been accomplished.
“We’ve been doing a good deal of
recording lately, mostly centered around the original songs we have written and
performed extensively,” said Joey and Cory, “But our upcoming agenda is to continue
writing and book as many shows in different venues as possible. Over the summer,
we hope to construct an EP or something like it.”
While the members of Burne Holiday love their music and love progressing as a band, they are still students at an Ivy League institution. Nathan Tyrell, the bass player of the group, explained what it was like balancing the life of musician as well as the life of a student.
"It’s super easy. Just kidding, it’s quite difficult," said Nathan, "But it
really just comes down to dedication. If you really want to maintain both the
band and your grades, you can and you will."
Being a student also factors into how the group practices. Javier shared that the group doesn't have a daily practice schedule, but that they practice when they can. He also discussed that helping each other out is essential to being able to practice, play shows, and perform academically.
"One thing is for sure, we maximize our ability to
practice and play live by helping each other out," said Javier, "If we have a show
the day before one of us has an exam, the rest of us take care of set-up and
take-down with no complaint, and we mold our own schedules around that of the
one who’s in the toughest academic spot at that moment."
There is no doubt that this group is highly dedicated to their music and each other. Students at Princeton University as well as others in the area should keep an eye out on this upcoming band. To learn more about Burne Holiday and when their next event is to take place "like" them on Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burne-Holiday/212782375455300.
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