The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and ...The Moods?
Maybe the student-formed Moods don't quite measure up to the classics, but this Winter Term one class is rocking the Depauw campus. The class is comprised of twenty-four students and is currently split up into eight bands, each with their own band name. The eight bands are com posing their own songs during the month with most bands working on two or three individual pieces.
The class is the brain-child of, oddly enough, a chemistry professor. Richard Martgolio started the Rock n Roll Experience in 2011 and the class is now co-taught with Communications and Theare professor, Jonathan Nichols-Pethick.
"I'm just a big fan and music has been a hobby for me," Martgolio said, "And I know how hard it can be to form a band."
Nichols-Pethick later chimed in, "when I found out Rich was going to teach this class again I told him I wanted to be a part of it."
The class meets in the morning to talk about the historical component of Rock, the Rock and Roll experience and the elements of a performance. Each band then has their own practice time scheduled later in the day.
Students in the class are encouraged to experiment with different sounds and given freedom over their name, the title of their songs and how many members play in the band. There is a wide variety of genre in the bands with one band playing a softer acoustic brand with another playing a very loud heavy metal style.
"It's been a great opportunity to focus on music without the normal stress of a college workload," said Devon Ross, a freshman in the class and a member of The Moods. Ross, whose band plays a type of progressive alternative rock, described the class as an "opportunity to further (his) passion."
The bands are rehearsing for the culminating Rock experience: a live show at the Duck. The live concert is on Wednesday, Jan. 23 from 8 to 11 p.m. and is free of charge and all are welcome.
"There have definitely been a lot of smiles going around this class," Nichols-Pethick said about his students. "This is definitely a Winter Term experience free of misery."