Market Basket is pure, unfiltered fun. The five-person Tufts band -- made up of senior Leif Inouye on rhythm guitar, junior Anna Kaplan on bass, sophomore Tucker Sjoblad on drums, sophomore Josh Berl on lead guitar and junior Mike Manzi on vocals -- formed at the beginning of this year, and it doesn't show signs of slowing down any time soon. During its interview with the Daily, the group proved lively. Feeding off of each others’ energy like puppies at an over-cramped PetSmart adoption event, they take turns answering questions in sequential letters of the alphabet. At the letter G, Inouye described the group’s influences.
“Guaranteed, ScatterShot, from the Burren, another cover band we kind of idolize,” he said.
They also mentioned Creed and Joan Jett among their myriad influences. Their initial hopes for the band influence their style now.
“We [Sjoblad and Berl] have always had this dream of playing Creed songs in Zeta [Psi Fraternity],” said Berl.
“We always try to play the hit songs of the time,” Inouye added.
A cover band who caters to their audience, Inouye explained that his "personal goal is to play in every single frat.” Musing on the energy of the party scene, the group said one of its favorite parts of performing is being able to see a live band transform a party into an experience rather than an event.
“On both sides, it’s really different to listen to live music," Sjoblad said. "Everyone in the band loves going to concerts, and I definitely would say there’s something euphoric about being on the other side of it and getting to play and see all of your friends go nuts when 'Stacy’s Mom' [2003] comes on. That’s the coolest feeling. I couldn’t describe anything else like that."
While fun and whimsical, the group has humble roots, remaining appreciative for the start they received. They gave a "huge shout-out to Ben Silver,” for giving them a chance to play at not one, but two JumBonnaroo events (the group played at ATO in the fall for the event and Delta Upsilon Fraternity this past weekend for Jumbonnaroo’s spring 2015 festival).
Market Basket envisions its success as the beginning of a long-standing college tradition.
“I’m excited to have been one of the founding members, but I think, 60 years down the line, looking at how Market Basket has evolved...” Inouye said, and was then cut off by his bandmate.
The ultimate goal, Berl continued, is “to be 80 years old, watching our children performing as Market Basket in DU.”
To all interested Tufts students, Josh Berl enthusiastically says, “We’ll play at your party.” The group shared their dream to one day play at every Tufts frat, leaving behind a legacy of “Stacy’s Mom”covers and wild crowd-surfing. Their fans -- dubbed “Basketheads”-- will likely be the driving force behind this legacy.
Catch Market Basket at a Tufts party on campus, somewhere, sometime soon.
