Hipsters and rappers alike gathered at the UCafé on Monday for the third RockYoFaceCase event of the fall semester—one which served as a prime example of the biweekly concert series’ growth since its beginnings.
The “Hip-Hop and Hip-Ster”-themed night featured five acts: Jay Rano and Ugly Danger representing the hip-hop sphere, and Cyberbully, The Frontier Brothers and Hello Jupiter representing the hipsters. This longer-than-usual line-up (the event usually showcases only three acts), along with the two-stage setup and out-of-state artists, marked the showcase’s progression
The Frontier Brothers hail from Texas. The group, which was in town not only for RYFC but for the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, is no stranger to the Stony Brook campus. The band has played RYFC before, and played Brookfest in 2010.
Frontier Brothers drummer Travis Newman, keyboardist Brett Moses, bassist Nick Lagrasta and guitarist/vocalist Marshall Galactic sat down with The Press after their set to talk about their own music and their perspective on the music scene in general.
The band began when Moses and Galactic, who went to school together from third grade on, were inspired by an annual arts festival that they attended. The two were bored, they said, and decided to write songs about robots. They performed the songs at a coffee house, and so the band’s roots were planted. Galactic’s brother, Newman, came home from college because he wanted to play drums. They’ve been together for the last five years.
The members couldn’t decide on the proper way to categorize their music, though, when pressed, they said that “p(art)y-punk” or “anti-slacker rock” were two viable classifications.
“We’ve never started with the sound,” Moses said. “We just started with the people; the chemistry that we have.”
They draw inspiration from both the live performance aspect and their collective belief that music should be not a form of escapism, but a tether to reality. “There’s been a trend of escapism in pop music,” Moses said.
He does not see this as a positive thing, and Galactic agrees.
“I think literature should bring you closer to life rather than farther; rather than away from it,” Galactic added. And that applies to music as well.
Meanwhile, Moses admitted that he feels that “most people in bands probably have ‘Peter Pan Complexes,’” meaning they enjoy the crazy hours and being on the road, despite the lack of stability.
The group is currently working on a new album, which it expects to release later this year.
