Though the sky was dismal at best, the pitter-patter of the rain on the Fiske Quad stage was nothing in comparison to the echoes of drum kits and melodies at the Keene Music Festival.
On August 31, bands and performers scattered through the city of Keene to play for audiences along Main Street and the Keene State College campus.
Brian Cantore / Photo Editor: Elizabeth Niekoski and Liz Sumner from the musical septet “Fuzzy Logic” show off their unique sound at the Keene Music Festival on the Keene State College campus.
There were a variety of different age groups who performed and for many artists it was their first time playing a show on KSC grounds.
Some of the youngest performers were the members of Indie rock band The Snaz, ranging from ages 13 to 15.
The Snaz has been together for two years and played only their own music at the festival. They spoke of some of their earliest memories with music and with one another as a band.
Bassist Sally Fletcher said, “I think some of my earliest memories are messing around with music.” She explained that she has been playing bass since fifth grade.
Mavis Eaton, pianist and back-up vocal artist, said she had always longed to be in a band when the group formed.
“I kind of feel like I’m accomplishing something,” she said when describing what practice is like for her.
Zack James, drummer for The Snaz, said being a part of the band and music in general is “a great experience, it’s just a fun thing to do with your life.”
Lead singer and guitarist Dharma Ramirez expressed what music does for her and said, “I think it’s the only time I feel really present in what I’m doing.”
Ramirez and Eaton compose a lot of the music The Snaz performs. Ramirez said everyday experiences are her inspiration. Usually, she will come up with the guitar portion that fits a certain feeling and add lyrics later.
“The way stuff works together is very different, I don’t think we really did that on purpose, I just think it kind of happened,” Ramirez said.
Eaton explained that The Snaz’s youth made them unique from the other bands performing on the Fiske Quad that day. She takes pride in the group’s dynamics and quirkiness and believes they are original for those reasons.
Folk artist Robert Hamill also made his KSC debut at the festival. He had been playing music for four years.
Three of those years involved teaching himself how to play with some help from a Beatles music book. After living in the area for years, Hamill said, “actually playing here is awesome.”
As far as performing on stage goes, Hamill said it can be “demoralizing” when there are not too many people in the audience, but added that he gets up and gives it a shot nonetheless. “I feel kind of nervous, but I use that as the strive,” Hamill said.
Hamill put his own spin on popular songs by other artists, and smiles and smirks drew across the faces of on-lookers as he sang his own acoustic version of “Runaway” by Kanye West. He enjoys learning new chords and “making new sounds, that’s what drives me most of the time,” he said.
Learning through music one enjoys, not necessarily just classical music, is how Hamill believes people should learn to play.
He finds joy in taking bits and pieces of other musician’s work and turning them into his own collaboration, finding inspiration in the artists he listens to.
“I use everything, I guess,” he said, and added that on his CD, “there’s this track on there where we tone my voice down. We put my pitch down so low that it’s like a Tyler the Creator moment.”
In contrast, the group Fuzzy Logic is not new to the Keene Music Festival at all.
In fact, they’ve been performing together at the festival for 13 years.
A total of seven artists make up Fuzzy Logic, and Michael Cohen writes most of the music.
“I just listen to a lot of different kinds of music,” Cohen said, as his musical range is anything from country to rock.
Cohen also likes writing for women singers to “get that point of view,” he said, in the music Fuzzy Logic plays. Creating a new arrangement is one of singer Liz Sumner’s favorite things, she is thrilled about “having a brand new song come together and deciding what works and what doesn’t.”
Singer Traci Booth pointed out other differences in their music, like the three women harmony she contributes to. She said this style is “kind of a thing of the past, and that makes us (Fuzzy Logic) very unique.”
Brian Cantore / Photo Editor: One of the many performers at the Keene Music Festival plays the violin.
Booth, Cohen and Sumner agreed that since their music doesn’t fall into a specific genre, it makes it difficult to market.
However, it is also what makes the band who they are as musicians. Sumner and Cohen, like their fellow band mates Michael and Elizabeth Nieckoski, have been married for years and joked about practicing and playing together.
At the end of the day though, Booth said, “we get together and sing and just enjoy it, and we’ve been a big family for a long time.”
Brittany Ballantyne can be reached at bballantyne@keene-equinox.com
