Two new student bands have appeared in the thriving music scene at Choate: LASH and Sin Mullet, both of which have recently performed in all-school meetings.
LASH, founded by Ore Tejuoso ’21, is an acronym for the four member’s initials: L for Luwa, the stage name of vocalist and leader Tejuoso, A for guitarist and drummer Alex Nam ’21, S for pianist Sejin Kim ’22, and H for drummer Henry Kops ’22. A fifth member, Jarett Jean Jacques ’22, a piano and trumpet player, was recently added to the band’s roster.
Sin Mullet, founded by Lucas Eggers ’21, consists of members Emily Koscielski ’21, Maya Lewis-Hayre ’20, and Jules Dubel ’20. To open last week’s all-school meeting, Sin Mullet performed “One Angry Dwarf and 200 Solemn Faces” by Ben Folds Five, featuring a short prelude with Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata and a piano solo of “Megalovania” from video game Undertale.
According to Tejuoso, founder of LASH, she was inspired to form a band by her interest in songwriting and desire to perform her original works. Over this past summer, Tejuoso wrote some twenty songs, focusing on experiences with friends and thoughts.
Alex Nam ’21, guitarist and drummer of LASH, reached out to Tejuoso on Instagram asking if she needed a drummer throughout the year, which eventually led to the formation of the band. “I think it started with a jam session or two in the Jam Room in Colony Hall. Henry and I were playing some songs, we asked Ore to sing along, and all of us really enjoyed the atmosphere,” Nam said. “So we thought, ‘Why not start a band?’”
LASH and Sin Mullet both performed in Colony Hall for the openings of all-school meetings within the past two months. Jules Dubel ’20, member of Sin Mullets, said, “I was supposed to be on drums, but I broke my finger. In keeping with the energy of Sin Mullet — and partially to make sure Lucas did not fall — I was still onstage under the piano.”
Dubel continued, “We edited the original song quite a bit: we removed a lot of swear words, added the Moonlight Sonata at the beginning, and even had Lucas standing on the piano bench. Our goal was to just have fun — raw unpolished fun — and I think we accomplished that.”
Emily Koscielski ’21, another member of Sin Mullet, revealed the band’s process behind arranging and preparing for the performance. “For arranging, we play stuff by ear. So we listen to the songs over and over and figure out each of the riffs, licks, and all the stuff that goes into the song.
“I’m definitely not a super-experienced musician in terms of music theory, so I’m not exactly sure how we do it, but we kind of fool around until it sounds right. A lot of the weird additions that we put into songs are just stuff we come up with on the fly while practicing that we decide to keep,” Koscielski said.
Nam noted the benefits of having members with knowledge of music theory in LASH. According to Nam, LASH members’ proficiency in song composition has allowed for a jump start.
“All five of us have a decent understanding of music theory. A lot of high-school bands like to cover songs, and if they want to write songs, they have simple chord progressions, whereas we can make more complex chord progressions,” Nam said. “We also love doing covers. There’s sometimes a stigma against bands covering songs instead of performing original works, but we will definitely do both.”
LASH and Sin Mullet members also shared the genres and types of songs they’ll primarily perform in the future. According to Tejuoso, LASH isn’t confined to a single genre of music because the five members have wildly different music preferences.
“We’re a diverse group, diverse not only in our ethnicities but also music tastes. Alex loves rock, Sejin likes jazz, and I love R&B,” Tejuoso said. “Although we’re so different, we’re connected by our love and passion for music. Everyone in LASH is multi-talented, and everyone had wanted to do something like this before, so we won’t limit ourselves or the songs we perform. We’ll just kinda do what we like.”
Dubel also noted the uniqueness in the members of Sin Mullet. According to Dubel, while the group has different tastes in music, the songs Sin Mullet performs will match the energy of its members.
“I would say we’ll perform rock songs, chaotic songs,” Dubel said. “We all have different music tastes, but we all have this immense chaotic energy. On-stage, our energy is just wild and feral. We’ll choose songs that can keep up.”
Like their acapella counterparts, student bands are run and organized by students.“We all just want to jam and perform for the school. Sometimes, it’s hard to get everyone focused and on-task, and I have to make sure our practices are always organized and productive,” Tejuoso said. “But the great thing about LASH is being able to spend time doing what we love, and that’s performing music. We hope to compose more original songs, perform more for the School in the future, and just spread our music around Choate.”
Both LASH and Sin Mullet have plans to keep performing at all-school meetings, as well as at coffeehouses and possibly in small concerts
