Campus Lacks Practice Spaces
Everyone who has ever seen the movie Spinal Tap has an idea of the hardships involved in making a successful band. At Dartmouth, musical “success” is defined not by performances in big stadiums but rather more humble venues scattered around campus. Dartmouth guitarists are confined to playing in frats, banquets, barbecues, and until this past spring term, the beloved Lone Pine Tavern. Before closing last spring, Lone Pine always provided aspiring student musicians or bands opportunities to entertain audiences without tapping into pre-existing frat connections.
Luckily for us musicians, what used to be Lone Pine is being renovated and modernized into “One Wheelock” thanks to popular request (and one gratuitous donation). We have upgraded from a lonely Tavern to a café-inspired lounge with piles of free coffee, comfortable leather couches, a separate door that opens onto Wheelock St., and a slightly higher musical standard. But as thrilling as this news is, there are greater obstacles than financial concern in Dartmouth’s music scene.
Practice may not necessarily breed musical perfection, but it doesn’t hurt. A soloist or duo can usually find practice rooms to rehearse in but there are no spaces allocated for a full band to freely bang on a drum set and plug in to a quality sound system on campus. And nailing carpets all over my walls to soundproof my room seems a bit much. On top of the problems with noise levels, lack of equipment, and time slot scarcity, there is a more fundamental cultural void. The College provides no space for independent band members to hang out “off the record,” and develop their sonic chemistry.
There is certainly a ready supply of rooms at the Hop for a cappella groups and official school ensembles. Supporting independent musicians is not just a service the school should provide; it is also an investment in a service that the musicians can provide the school in return. The difference is that for independent bands, this service goes directly to the students in frat basements or at other functions. Programming Board, a student run organization, may not even know of the student bands available on campus. There may be enough money to hire professional musicians from all over the country every month, but that is no substitute for a real, local music scene at Dartmouth.
If the music department could recognize the benefits of campus bands, there would be a large incentive to help them to succeed; but these benefits remain unacknowledged.
The campus group “PRFORM” was created as a reaction to this culture at Dartmouth. Its mission is to provide musicians with a place to meet, plug into a PA system, and increase their awareness of other artists on campus. Although this group supports the noblest of causes, it has sadly been relegated to the fringes of campus attention and funding. In fact, the only place that PRFORM can call entirely its own is a small closet in the basement of Thayer where musicians can trust that their instruments will be safeguarded.
Although musicians are nominally permitted to use the space in Hovey Lounge (downstairs Thayer), the system for scheduling practice time is nearly impossible to navigate. You have to suggest a practice time to the faculty coordinator, who then has to defer to the Collis Governing Board to check for availability, which eventually tells you that you were successfully booked for three days ago. At this point, you charge up to the Collis front desk and ask the nice, pretty girl for a key, and lo and behold, she opens the closet for you, no questions asked.
This is not another poorly aimed critique of bureaucracy. PRFORM is an inspired group, and the idea behind it is a comfort to all wandering musicians. The new president, Patricia Lee ’12, has taken steps to stretch the meager resources the group has been allotted.
The main limiting factor for independent bands is space, and although there are numerous practice rooms in the Hop, it is difficult for a group with a drum set and equipment to use one at will. Two years ago there was a practice room in the basement floor of Collis, but due to lack of support, it was discontinued and the doors were locked.
As much as we can draw on our wealth of talent in a cappella groups or our large endowment, we still aren’t fully tapping in to the artistic reservoirs on campus that have been left adrift by our exclusive system. Creating a self-sustaining passion for music at Dartmouth means more than having just a Blitz list and a closet. It means forging a connection between the music department and the underground bands, and recognizing that both parties have something to offer each other.
