A Frightfully Fun Night of Music

Catering was provided by Tony Tomatoes Tuscan Wood Fired Pizza, and for the more beverage-inclined, Starbucks was just one door down. Inside were tables decorated for the season, cider, donuts, a photo booth, and plenty of standing room. For those willing to brave the lines, raffle tickets and Fright Fest memorabilia were up for grabs. Overall, the vibes were cozy and just a bit on the spooky side. 

The Vivid Scene, a band made up of Geneseo students, opened the show with a high-energy cover of Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World.”  What followed was a quality mix of dad rock classics performed with a modern alternative flair characterized by high bass, high gain, and a helluva lot of noise.  The Vivid Scene revitalized a few tired classics, and also worked in some of their original pieces, written by drummer Kevin Shea.  “Power Lines” and “Motorcycle Funeral," both captured the incredible energy of alternative noise rock.

Following up the Vivid Scene was Junk Deck, another student band, who carried on the dad rock vibe.  Leading man Nate brought a fun energy and winning charm to the stage, backed up by his unique vocals.  The rest of the band was just as strong, with lead guitarist Gavin Moore performing a great solo in Junk Deck's ‘original’ song, “Freebird.”

Here's a more in-depth look at each of the bands:

The Vivid Scene is composed of leading man Trevor Donlon, Justin Maxwell on vocals and guitar, Gavin Ackerman on bass, and Kevin Shea on the drums. Shortly after their set, they joined me backstage for an interview.

Q: What inspires your music?

When asked about their inspirations, the Vivid Scene cited “Rock in a general sense,” ranging from Ween, to Jimmy Page, to Pearl Jam. Bassist Gavin Ackerman cites Cliff Burton as the specific inspiration for his improvised fills. 

Drummer Kevin Shea wrote the two original songs in Sunday’s performance, “Power Lines” and “Motorcycle Funeral.”  Inspiration for “Power Lines” came from bands such as Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters.  Shea described it as being in “...the spirit of making a lot of noise.”

“Motorcycle Funeral” takes most of its inspiration from Ween and Motorhead.  Shea elaborated on the meaning behind the song: “A lot of people are remembered because of how they died. Is a person worth how they died or how they lived? And sometimes I think it’s a little bit of both."

Q: What do you want people to know about your band?

“We have a very strong bond outside of music…we have our personal relationships with each other; keeping those divides is very important to us, to achieving what we want to achieve,” said lead vocalist Trevor Donlon.

You can catch The Vivid Scene at Drumroll Stage and Sushi Pub on October 31st.  Find them on Instagram @thevividsceneofficial and stream their original song “Power Lines” on Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube under the band name The Pretend Architects.

Junk Deck features Nate ‘I Want to be Mysterious’ performing vocals, Andre Bianci on the drums, Jack Harnes on bass, Gavin Moore and Henry Baumer on guitar, and Bannon ‘no last name given’ on the keys.  Between photo taking and pumpkin stealing, I was able to catch all six of them backstage for an interview.

Q: What inspirations are you pulling from? Where does your sound come from?

“Everyone likes everything,” was the general consensus from the room. After a bit of deliberating, the band landed on Led Zeppelin as a common influence, but made sure to note differences in their roots and styles.  In particular, keys-player Bannon got his start performing Gospel music and Andre made sure to note, “the sound comes from my drums.”  They concluded with, “I think we’re also not afraid to have fun with music…we don’t take ourselves too seriously with sound…we just make every song our own."

Q: Anything else you want people to know about your band?

“I’m Nate, I like wearing hats,” said Nate, wearing a hat. They didn't have too much more to add except, of course, that their flawless performance of “Freebird” was their first ever and also that the song was their original.

Q: What’s up with your shirt?

Drummer Andre Bianci was seen wearing the shirt pictured below during Sunday's performance. When pressed about its meaning, he had this to say:  “You know Andrew obviously, like, Andrew has been on thin ice recently. It’s been, like, scandal after scandal with this kid. He’s been a piece of s—, he’s my friend, but yeah. Basically; I don’t know how else to tell him, I’ve tried telling him but…this is his last chance, y’know what I mean?  He’s on thin ice, he just doesn’t care, and I just want him to know that one more, and it’s done.”

Junk Deck can be seen often playing at Oasis, and they have show dates TBA  Drumroll Stage and Sushi Pub and Idle Hour. Follow them on Instagram @junkdeckband to stay up to date on upcoming shows.

A big thank you to Arlette Alvarez and Avery Jordan Banas for all of your help!

Beau Philpot is a Freshman at SUNY Geneseo and member of WGSU's Music Selection Staff.