College campuses have notoriously been popular places for
bands to form. While one’s studies are usually the main reason for attendance, college
is also a place where people develop life-long friendships and relationships
with other like-minded people. And for those that are musically inclined and
have that special kind of chemistry, a successful band may not be too far
behind.
With colleges all over the world celebrating their
commencement activities this month, Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet,
is taking a look at bands that made it big out of college. Here are six whose
rock star dreams became a reality.
1.
Vampire Weekend: When Vampire Weekend burst out
onto the indie rock scene in 2006, they became known as “that band that formed
at Columbia University.” The quartet of Ezra Koenig, Chris Tomson, Chris Baio
and Rostam Batmanglij met while studying at the Ivy League school and didn’t
waste any time getting music out. Their debut album was written and recorded
while they were still students on campus.
2.
Coldplay: The guys of Coldplay met early on in
their university careers, way before they ever had a single class in fact.
Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland became friends in 1996 during orientation week
at University College London. Less than a year later and with the additions of fellow
classmate Guy Berryman, Martin’s friend Phil Harvey and Will Champion, the band
started playing small clubs together.
3.
Queen: Brian May formed the band that would
eventually become known as Queen while a student at Imperial College in London.
He and high school friend Tim Staffell formed a band called Smile, recruiting
drummer Roger Taylor through an ad in the college’s newspaper. Freddie Mercury,
who was studying at Ealing Art College and was friends with Staffell, joined in
1970 following Staffell’s exit and that same year played their first show as
Queen. That show happened to be at, where else, Imperial College.
4.
Pink Floyd: Before being known as Pink Floyd,
Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Richard Wright were all architecture students at
London Polytechnic playing music together as Sigma 6. Many of their early shows
were played in the school’s Regent Street basement. About three years after
forming, the band, now featuring Syd Barrett, would change their name to Pink
Floyd and history would be made.
5.
Interpol: According to a 2003
interview with Pitchfork, Interpol formed at NYU, though they were not
originally friends. Said Dan Kessler, “I approached everyone at some point or
another, and started loosely jamming with our first drummer [Greg Drudy], who
lived in the same dormitory as me; he was just starting to play drums, so it
was very loose-- and bad. I was just happy to have someone to play with, to
tell you the truth. I had a very hard time finding musicians to play with--
musicians at all, really-- and I saw Carlos in some class and approached him.”
6.
R.E.M.: Though three out of the four members of
R.E.M. studied at the University of Georgia, the band did not meet on campus. Instead,
mutual friend Kathleen
O’Brien introduced Michael Stipe to fellow students Mike Mills and Bill
Berry in fall 1979. Along with Peter Buck (who Stipe met at a record shop) the
new band started playing music together in 1980. The new band played their
first show at a nearby church at a gig set up to celebrate O’Brien’s birthday.
College campuses have historically been popular places for
bands to form. From like-minded friends making music together to those who
actively sought to recruit fellow musicians from their school or other means,
the university atmosphere has bred many a band, including some very popular
ones like the ones above. With the next group of college graduates heading out
to follow their dreams, it is only a matter of time before the next big college
band finds their way to the public eye.
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Find music from these collegiate bands and more at Vinyl Bay
777. Long Island’s top new independent record shop has thousands of titles to
choose from in a wide selection of genres. Browse or selection of new and used vinyl
records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our
Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added
to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay
777.
