In Hotung the sounds of March Madness fill the room. Sitting around the table with me this evening are the six members of Redshift 6. The group consists of Juniors Brett Karley from Rochester, NY, Todd Scalia from Sacramento, CA, and Conor Sheehan of Sandwich, MA, seniors Dan Aaronson from Boston, and Keith Silliman from Rote, PA, and sophomore Jordan Kolasinski of New York City.
"We represent four states but one nation," Scalia commented.
Karley, the band's "beat-factory," is both a drummer and a biomedical engineer. Scalia, the "fast girls and smokes" of the band is the lead vocalist and a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Philosophy. Sheehan, the "Han Solo" of the group, is double majoring in Engineering Psychology and Biomedical Engineering and is the band's lead guitarist. Aaranson, the group's "team captain" is a Psychology and Engineering Major and the band's keyboardist. Silliman, the band's "wah-chica-wah-wah," is a Computer Engineer and plays rhythm guitar. Kolasinski, the group's "testosterone," plays the bass.
The original incarnation of the band included Aaronson, Scalia, Sheehan, and Silliman - along with two members who went abroad. The group started playing in a room in Hill Hall, and had its first gig on a snowy day at the Delta Upsilon house the day before Spring Break two years ago. At the time they only knew two or three songs and just played them several times. "We played 'Sweet Home Alabama' like seven times," Silliman said.
The group's favorite and best performance was opening last year's Spring Fling. The band felt they were received well. "Considering the fact that it was 10:45 we had a pretty good crowd," Aaronson said. Even Jurassic5's Achilla complimented the group.
Musically, the group describes their sound as kaleidoscopic. "It's a musical paella," commented Kolasiski. Though some classify Redshift 6 as a jam band the group considers itself genre-less. Their music is a result of the different taste each brings to the band. Scalia is a 311 fan; Aaronson says his musical influence is Bruce Hornsby. Kolasiski's favorite group is The Red Hot Chili Peppers; Sheehan cites Phish as a musical influence. Karley credits Danzig, and Silliman enjoys traditional Irish folk music. All the group's members agree on the greatness of George Clinton.
In the midst of this discussion Kolasinski completes the "Napkin Medusa" sculpture crafted out of napkin he has been shredding the entire time. When you tilt your head it does, in fact, bear some resemblance to the famous Gorgon. Soon, he and Scalia engage in a short discussion of Impressionist art.
The members of the group have lives outside their gigs and bi-weekly practices. Scalia is an avid aquarium hobbyist with 900 pounds of water in his room for his saltwater aquarium. He is also on the Dean's List. Kolasiski is head of the Jumbo Audio Project . He also produces Hip-hop and plays squash. Aaronson is a solo pianist and former head of Concert Board. Silliman is part of Tufts Lighting, Sound, and Video; his skills often come in handy for the group. He is also a member of the Tufts Chorale. Sheehan is the president of the Inter Fraternity Council and a former hockey player. Karley is an avid reader.
The six consider themselves fairly political, which has caused some controversy for them in the past. In April they will play a benefit show for Earth Day. The group's manager is a recent Tufts graduate. They have had to turn down bar bookings in the past because of the size of the band. The group's favorite covers are "Rockin' the Suburbs" by Ben Folds and Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." Of their own songs they enjoy playing "Shadows" and "Captain Wonderpants."
The group's mascot is one of Scalia's pets: a nameless, candy cane-striped shrimp. It used to be known as "Christmas" but Scalia decided to change the name when it became the group's mascot (not all members of the band celebrate that holiday). The group claimed to have garnered a lot of inspiration from that "small unassuming invertebrate."
When asked where they saw themselves in five years Karley stated that he would either be in grad school or making money. Aaranson will have just graduated from law school and will be working for a professional sports team. He also hopes to be a contestant on The Price is Right or Jeopardy! Silliman will have just bought a cell phone and may have forsaken his computer engineering background for a career in gonzo journalism. Kolasinski plans to be sipping on Crystal with Dr.Dre. Scalia plans to traverse the small island he bought with his mother's inheritance money in his father's Bavarian Sports Car. Sheehan has no idea what will be doing in five years. "But that's okay," said Silliman.
