Musicians from Boston's music scene past and present came together this past Sunday to help raise money for Girls Rock Camp Boston. Well-regarded musicians performing at the benefit included Mary Lou Lord, Hilken Mancini, and Thalia Zedek, best known as one of the founding members of 90s band Come. However, the benefit started off with a couple sets by some younger musicians that easily proved the worth of these rock camps: get kids playing music earlier and not only will they be better players at a younger age, but they'll gain a strong sense of confidence in the process. More about the show, after the break.
The benefit started off with a set by The Bungles, a real-life representation of the fictional band in the book Rules to Rock By. The Bungles are made up of teen musicians Sofie Kapur, Anders Kapur, and Hunter Lombard, with Rules to Rock By author Josh Farrar and ex-Guided By Voices/Shudder to Think member Kevin March rounding out the band. Though the book is written for young adults, the original songs based on the book, like the ode to Deerhoof's frontwoman “Hey Satomi,” have enough bite to appeal to an older audience as well. The highlight of this set had to be Sofie Kapur's vocals, impressive under any circumstances but especially for someone only halfway through high school. Check back to Inyourspeakers in the next week or so for an interview about Rules to Rock By with Josh, Sofie, Anders, and Hunter.
After The Bungles' brief set, adults Farrar and March yielded the floor to Hunter and the siblings Kapur, who performed their own original songs under the name The NowhereNauts. Sofie's voice was still strong as part of The NowhereNauts, but the rest of the band easily matched that strength on their respective instruments. Anders played some seriously tight bass lines and Hunter's guitar skills would make most axemen (and women) envious. Best of all, the band performed with great enthusiasm and energy. After the show, I thought about all the teenage bands I saw at local shows growing up in suburban Massachusetts and realized that none of them played nearly as well as The NowhereNauts did at this show – hell, I've seen plenty of 'adult bands' this year that also didn't sound nearly as good as The NowhereNauts. If they're this good at such a young age, then it follows that great things may come from these musicians in the future. Unfortunately, wide touring any time soon is unlikely since the members of the band are still in school – this was their first show outside of the expansive NYC region. However, inhabitants of that region should go out of their way to see the band perform – check out their myspace page for songs and future tour dates.
