Chapman’s Movers, Shakers and Music Makers

MEMBERS OF JUBILO DRIVE POSE OUTSIDE OF A CONCERT VENUE. FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: GRAPHIC DESIGN MAJOR HENRY KUCKENS, COMMUNICATIONS MAJOR ERIC CRUZ, CHAPMAN GRADUATE HAYDEN VAUGHN AND PR AND ADVERTISING MAJOR JORDAN KLEINMAN.

PHOTO CREDITS: JUBILO DRIVE

Story by Liz Pennock

It’s Thursday night and the band members of Jubilo Drive have just finished a weekly practice session at their band house. An impressive collection of records, CDs and two large speakers sit on a kitchen table as senior Jordan Kleinman drops the needle on an old jazz record. 

As the record crackles, the members of Jubilo Drive recall how they met back in 2012 during their freshman year. They were all looking to get involved in music, since their non-music majors weren’t conducive environments for forming a band. Kleinman was walking through campus one day when he met Hayden Vaughn, who was playing the guitar in front Oliphant Hall.

Kleinmen and Vaughn discussed forming a band, and after a few persuasive conversations with their current band-mates, Jubilo Drive was born.

“Chapman has always provided a nice home base, because we could play at school events in our own neighborhood. It has also been great to get practice in regards to advertising and how to get new people to shows. Learning how to be a band here has been pretty great,” said former Chapman student Vaughn.

 Jubilo Drive is comprised of guitarist Kleinman and fellow Chapman students lead signer and guitarist Henry Kuckens, drummer Eric Cruz and bassist Vaughn. As one of the more vocal bands at Chapman, Jubilo Drive has performed both on and off campus, sharing their “California-rock” style music with both students and the public.

On campus opportunities have been helpful for them to get the word out about their band and experience performing live for large and small audiences alike. 

However, for students like Lauren Potts, a senior studio art major, finding equipment to perform with and a venue proves to be more of a challenge.

Potts started playing the drums at 11 years-old and has travelled the world to share her talent. As a part of the San Jose Youth Symphony, she travelled to Chile and Argentina where she performed six concerts in five cities, including a performance for the First Lady of Chile with the Chilean National Youth Orchestra. 

Potts said she “feels encouraged to play but there just aren’t any means to do so. Drums take up a lot of space and are super loud, so I can’t necessarily bring my kit from home and keep them in my apartment.” 

Luis Chavez, a hip-hop artist who also goes by Big Lou, expressed similar concerns in regards to performing on campus.

“Personally, I don’t know if there have been enough chances for Chapman students to perform on campus,” he said. “There haven’t been any hip-hop or rock nights. Open mic nights are great, but if people don’t know what to expect, they might not like it. 

As a creative producing major, Chavez is focused on pursuing a career in film and wants to produce, write, and direct. He thinks music is a great outlet and can be incredibly fun, and thinks that he’ll just “keep rapping until people don’t want to hear it anymore.” However, he’d still like to see more students collaborate when it comes to making music and create a more supportive music scene here on campus.

In fact, Chavez has already taken a step in the right direction and collaborated with other musicians at Chapman, including junior business administration major Evan DeVries.

DeVries, also known as Devreezy or DVRZ, describes his music as a solo project that falls between rock and electronic dance music, with more of a “chill-wave feel” inspired by artists like Flume, Chet Faker and Washed Out.

Big Lou and DVRZ have collaborated on several songs, including “Listen Ho” and “Blue Hawaii”, both of which are available for download on DeVries’ website.

The two have also performed together at local coffee shops including Chapman Coffee House and The Ugly Mug, both located less than a 5 minute walk from campus. 

As a member of the Student Government Association, DeVries has been a part of the ongoing discussion about having an on campus bar or pub built. He said that this would be a great place for more bands and solo artists to perform and would be a more conducive environment for them to grow and develop as musicians.

Due to the controversial nature of the bar and an uncertain timeline for its construction, DeVries said “even encouraging students to try and perform more in the union could be cool and encourage non-music major students to perform.” 

Students must also keep in mind, however, is that there are organizations like the University Program Board and Chapman Radio that are working towards creating a more welcoming and inclusive environment for student musicians, whether or not they are music majors.

“Our open mic nights offer students various ways to express themselves and their interests,” said UPB Chair Jordan Olson. “Our traditional programs such as Midnight Breakfast, Spring Sizzle, Mardi Gras, and the Fall Concert offer opportunities for Chapman dance groups and musical artists, such as a cappella groups and DJs, to share what they have been working on.”

For example, Jubilo Drive has performed at UPB’s open mic nights before, as well performed as the opening band for Kapslap and A$AP Ferg at the 2014 Fall Concert. 

“I think we should give a shout-out to Angelo Carlo, because he and Chapman Radio have helped us out a lot. They work to let anybody who wants to express themselves musically in any way they want,” said Cruz while discussing Jubilo Drive’s Chapman supporters.

“Chapman Radio is the main source of providing music to the campus, and bands should see use as a way of promoting themselves,” said Angelo Carlo, a senior and the current General Manager. 

Chapman Radio, which started in 1967, has always “been a place where students can come and really just express themselves,” said current Program Manager and next year’s General Manager, Michael Stanziale. “We do not just support bands and solo artists, but everything from Jubilo Drive's rocking tunes to DVRZ's hipper electronic beats.”

As for the lack of available equipment, Potts and Chavez both suggested that Chapman might look into investing in a few pieces of equipment, like drum kits, microphones or recording equipment, so students could practice on campus and not worry about not being able to afford the resources and avoid noise complaints that they might otherwise encounter. 

Although all of these musicians play a variety of instruments and genres, they do have one thing in common: they all can be incredibly loud.

With the city of Orange’s noise ordinance requiring all sounds to be under a certain decibel after 10 p.m., practicing or playing music of any kind at an event can be difficult.

Kleinman mentioned that the cops have been called on them on several occasions, even if they were just practicing in the early evenings. 

“The cops were super cool about it, but we definitely were told to keep it down. To be honest I didn’t even think we were that loud,” he said.

The members of Jubilo Drive, Potts, Chavez and DeVries all mentioned how hard it can be to perform anywhere after the noise ordinance goes into affect, whether they are on or off campus.

They also agreed that one of the best parts about making music is that it is loud, fun, and can bring students together to experience something different than the usual party scene. 

“At the end of the day,” said Cruz, “we just want kids to dance around to our loud ass music.” 

Despite the lack of a well-established music scene at Chapman, these artists have all been supporting each other. 

Chavez said that the last concert he went to was to see Jubilo Drive play at The District Lounge, right here in Orange. Potts has played drums with Jubilo Drive before, and DeVries collaborated with Chavez and has seen Jubilo Drive perform at a few open mic nights in the Student Union.

By performing at events large and small, these musicians and many others have, knowingly or unknowingly, been slowly building the foundation for future student musicians of all kinds at Chapman.

+ posts