What do Maroon Five, Green Day, and our very own Mr. Jardim have in common? Their successful musical careers all began with their high school bands! Believe it or not, there was a time before AirPods when teen music came from a couple of amps framed by a peeled-open garage door. Dating back to the late twentieth century, student-formed bands have thrived as creative outlets for young, passionate musicians.
Here at MLHS, we are fortunate enough to experience a couple bands of our own. To get the inside scoop, I sat down with a few: Mountain Lakes Transit Authority, Tommy Went to College, and Sojourn. What is it like to be a high school band, here and now?
MOUNTAIN LAKES TRANSIT AUTHORITY
“An explosion of amazing music with odd instruments.”
Within seconds of being asked to identify the band, Justin Covart (‘19) perfectly summarized the unique charisma of the Mountain Lakes Transit Authority like so. Featuring instruments that range from tuba to violin to melodica…the Mountain Lakes Transit Authority brings its own personality to the upbeat classics you’d find on your parents’ CDs.
If you’ve never heard of the Mountain Lakes Transit Authority, then you’ve clearly never been to an MLHS coffee house or talent show–and you’re majorly missing out. A hallmark of the MLHS stage for the last four years, the Mountain Lakes Transit Authority even opened for the main act at the recent Rock for H.E.A.R.T. fundraiser and won First Place at the autumn SGA Talent Show.
But how did the band get its start?
“For [my] first talent show at the high school, I played a little something with my friend Nick Donati and I also saw that [former MLHS student] Joe McNaughton had a little band going…I was very fascinated by it all.”
Founding member and frontman, Donovan Menard (‘19) remarks.
“I think Joe [suggested that] we should get together and just do a little jam session. And then, I think the first line up was me, Joe, and Liam playing ‘Roxanne’ at the next talent show.”
Since then, the Mountain Lakes Transit Authority has included a rotating cast of about twelve different musicians, even including Donovan’s dad. Every performance brings a different combination of people and instruments, as the band grabs whatever ingredients they feel will make a good show. Regardless, this colorful group is always recognizable by their notorious performance attire, coordinating with statements such as upside-down sunglasses or suit jackets with gym shorts.
“[I’m] a pretty big fan of the band, Chicago and, in case you don’t know, Chicago was originally called the Chicago Transit Authority.” Donovan explains the origin of the band’s name. “[Chicago] had to change it once the actual Chicago Transit Authority was like, ‘hey you guys aren’t us’. So we thought we’d call [our band] Mountain Lakes Transit Authority as a little Chicago reference.
“And the upside is there’s no actual Mountain Lakes Transit Authority.”
What does Mountain Lakes Transit Authority sound like?
One of the original band members, Liam McCartney (‘19) describes the band as “different every time with recurring themes.” In tandem with its multifaceted identity, the band’s musical genre has been listed as funk, rock, jazz, alternative, ska, and reggae…but definitely not classical.
“I’d say we’re definitely inspired by a little bit of Talking Heads, a little bit of Steely Dan, a little bit of Police, Earth Wind and Fire.” Donovan says.
Over the course of its career, the band has famously brought their own spin to Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” and Men at Work’s “Falling Down.” Donovan adds, “the song that we’ve had the most fun with was probably ‘Life During Wartime’.” In fact, the aforementioned Talking Heads hit was the song that won the band its First Place prize.
So where can you find them?
All you need to do is search “Mountain Lakes Transit Authority” into your YouTube search bar and their friendly faces will come up. “We haven’t actually recorded any of our music yet so you won’t find it on Spotify and stuff,” Donovan clarifies. “In the future, I think we will start to record.
“We actually have a lot of performances lined up. We’ve got International Night, and then a spring coffee house, and then Battle of the Bands in May, and then another Beach Bash.” For those of you who missed the iconic event last summer, the Beach Bash was an open mic fundraiser held on Island Beach and organized by Donovan himself.
In addition to their exciting upcoming performances, Donovan has teased that the Transit Authority will come out with original music soon. “You see, we’ve always done covers and I’m [finally] doing an original song, but I do procrastinate a bit, so, we were supposed to play that like last week, and I wasn’t ready…but stay tuned!”
You heard him–stay tuned for more from this charismatic crew! But, if you can’t wait that long, go check them out on YouTube!
TOMMY WENT TO COLLEGE
A lot changes when you go off to college–especially if you’re leaving a band behind. Nobody knows this better than Tommy, who, deserting his band without a guitarist, inspired the formation of a whole new band in his honor.
“Tommy is real. He actually left the band and went to college.” Cali McAleer (‘19), lead guitarist and founder of Tommy Went to College, confirms.
In Tommy’s wake, the band has grown from a ragtag gathering of kids in the McAleer’s basement and blossomed into the creative, college apparel-wearing musicians onstage. In fact, Tommy Went to College recently made its debut in the MLHS media center, performing two songs at the January Young Democrats fundraiser.
Sarah Lavelle (’21)
On paper, the band can be described as old-fashioned electric guitar, bass, and drums, coming together to create a “pop punk” and “alternative rock” sound. More candidly, however, Cali frames the group as “a garage band that sings about break ups that never actually happened.”
Bassist Sarah Lavelle added onto Cali’s description, describing Tommy Went to College as “the most random group of people in a band…”
“…Harassed by me for a couple of years,” Cali concludes.
So how did this “random group of people” come together?
“I always had aspirations for a band.” Cali recounts her excitement, two years ago, upon hearing that her softball teammate Sarah Lavelle (‘21) could play bass. Consequently, Cali dragged Sarah through the beginnings of numerous potential bands, determined to get her dreams off the ground. “We were originally [called] ‘Leftover Glitter’.”
Keep in mind, this is when Tommy came into the picture, participating in an original, temporary version of the band…before he went to college.
“Slowly over the next year, I harassed Emily Hsiang after seeing her rockin’ talent show performance.” Cali recaps. “And, after exhausting all other options I found John Martinson in my gym class.”
Given the roundabout way through which these members came together, spectators are often surprised by the loose connections that exist between the bandmates. In fact, the band members stretch across three different grades. That’s the beauty of the band, however–it’s fused by a collective love of music.
To conclude, Cali explains, “Sarah is the sweet angel of the band. John is the diva of the band. Emily and I are the mom and dad of the band, in no particular order. And we get breakfast together.”
What does Tommy Went to College sound like?
When asked to list well-known bands with a similar sound, John rattles off “Queen, the Beatles, Black Sabbath…Mountain Lakes Transit Authority.” All jokes aside, though, John says, “We’re our own unique sound.”
You can expect driving basslines, catchy guitar motifs, and sweet drum fills. In fact, the band has only played original music thus far. John describes the band’s songwriting process to be as follows:
“Cali usually goes ‘Guys, check this out.’ and she plays something. And then we sit in silence for a little bit and go ‘Eh, yeah, sounds good’.”
“Emily actually makes it sound cool and then Sarah slaps down a bassline and then John cycles through about ten different drum parts.” Cali adds, “John harrasses us through all of it.”
If you’ve attended the most recent MLHS coffee houses, you may recognize the band’s originals, “Can’t Be the Only Ones,” “Back,” and “Should’ve Seen.” Later on, however, the band hopes to experiment with more covers.
When asked what followers can expect in the future, Cali explained, “Hopefully John will get a haircut [and] Emily might write a song that’s not [about] a break-up.” In addition, the band expresses aspirations to create digital recordings of their music, set up more live performances outside of school events, and watch Scott Pilgrim–a movie which Cali is known to frequently reference in their rehearsals. Cali also calls out to those reading this article: “We’re open to logos.”
Until the band properly records its music, you can follow them on Instagram or catch their performances at school music events. “Text us,” Cali says. “We’ll send you videos and voice memos of us playing.”
If you don’t feel like texting, though, you can always do a drive-by–the garage as it’s not very soundproof! Or, listen to it right here!
SOJOURN
The MLHS arts program would not have been complete over the last few years without the contributions of senior Jon Gold, future student at Berklee College of Music. From choir to wind ensemble to pit orchestra and more, Jon adds color to every piece of music he touches. Given the strong personality he possesses from behind a drum kit, it’s no surprise that Jon shines in his own band, outside of school.
Summarized as “an interesting combo of alternative rock, hard rock, and progressive rock all mixed into a 5-member group,” Sojourn has been performing together for about three years now. In addition to wowing audiences in past MLHS talent shows, Sojourn has been a recurring crowd favorite at Boonton performance center, Club Rock, amongst other venues.
“It all started when one of [my] friends got an email about a Battle of the Bands a couple years ago. He asked me, [and my friends] Matty and Xander to get together to do the contest without the intention of being in a permanent band but we started gravitating toward that idea.” Jon recounts, explaining that he met each band member through School of Rock, a music performance program and school based out of Chatham, NJ.
“[After the competition], the three of us started just jamming in my basement and playing our favorite songs, but, after a while, we wanted to get more serious, so we recruited another guitarist, Shai and a vocalist, Adri. This group would make up what is currently Sojourn.”
To save you the Google search, a sojourn is a short stay in a place that is not your home. “We were listening to one of our favorite bands, Opeth, and they have a song called ‘The Seventh Sojourn’…we thought the word Sojourn had a really nice sound to it,” Jon explains the unique band name. “It was a name we could tell our friends about without cringing while saying it.”
Coming from every corner of Morris County, including Summit, Montville, and Englewood, the band has doubled as a group of close friends since the beginning of their destined collaboration.
What does Sojourn sound like?
“Bands like Pink Floyd and Radiohead have really influenced our sound and our approach to writing music.” Jon explains. “If you like those bands’ sounds, you would definitely hear some of that come out in our music.”
Speaking of Pink Floyd, you might have been lucky enough to experience the band’s cover of “Time” by Pink Floyd at the most recent talent show. A crowd favorite, the band is known to open their shows with this cover. In addition, Jon cites a band favorite to be one of their original songs, “Drift,” “a very spacey, chill song.”
Framed in the moody red glow of the Club Rock stage, the band’s fresh energy radiates a distinct sound. Sojourn has been known to perform a hearty mix of both covers and originals. Over all, the simplest way to describe the compelling drive of this band’s music is “rock.”
What’s in the future for Sojourn?
As previously mentioned, the most reliable way to catch Sojourn is to experience one of their sets. When you find that you want to listen again, though, you may find some footage of the band on YouTube. Although the band does not have their music up on streaming sites yet, they hope to have their music on SoundCloud and Spotify as soon as possible. In fact, with the right equipment, Jon and his bandmates have figured out how to record high-quality music on just their phones and in their basement.
Be sure to see Sojourn while you can, however. As the name tells us, a sojourn is only a temporary stay away from home, and the majority of the band will be heading to a new home at Berklee College of Music next year.
“Our two guitarists, Matty and Shai, along with myself, are all heading off to the Berklee College of Music in the fall, so Sojourn as it is now may not survive, though all of us will continue to write and perform music.”
Needless to say, we cannot wait to see the music that will come from these talented performers, together or apart.
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