Student band gets into the groove
It’s groovy, it’s punk, it’s reggae, it’s metal, it’s MELON. MELON is a Burlington-based cover band that has been together since August 2015.
Even though MELON songs contain many jam band elements, don’t get them confused with a typical jam band. They capture different elements of every band members’ music taste and roll it into one organized sound that just makes you want to dance.
“You kind of go into the groove after a while,” singer junior Jackie Wydysh said about producing and performing their eclectic sound. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a funk song or what.”
“We all find our way into the groove somehow,” singer Andrew Richards, a senior, said.
Practicing in their basement, MELON is not only a band working with a multitude of mu- sic styles, but also a close group of friends enjoying themselves.
High-fiving and fist bumping after songs and joking with each other are all quintessential elements of MELON.
This band has bonded beyond close friendship.
“When looking back on college, I’ll think of what an amazing opportunity it has been to be part of a band like MELON,” Wydysh said. “I wish I had brothers growing up, and these boys are better than anything I could have wished for.”
The band’s musical repetoire covers everything from a swanky and groovy version of Fetty Wap’s “Trap Queen,” to their own version of Destiny’s Child’s “Say My Name.”
MELON takes these familiar songs and gives them a new twist, setting them apart from the average college jam band.
“There’s only so many variations of [a riff]” said senior Henry Curell, who plays guitar in MELON. “You can only do so many things with that before it becomes really monotonous, it’s good to have a direction.”
Their recent show at Radio Bean was “packed to full capacity,” according to the band’s Facebook page, “for a sweaty Wednesday to start the semester off right.”
The group was almost one with the audience during Wednesday night’s show as they greeted friends, snapped pictures and danced with the crowd throughout the entire set.
The energetic show managed to achieve MELON’s aim: making people dance.
Next on MELON’s agenda is a Feb. 15 show at Nectar’s and a Feb. 27 show at Radio Bean.
