Alex Fredkin, Arts Editor
Oneonta students were treated to an entire day of music, fun and food on Saturday at the Oneonta Theatre. Students Alison McCann, AJ Piszcz, Andrew Cerone, Nicholas Tassinari, Tyler D’Errico and Sara Secor organized the event, labeled “Mother’s of Intention and Day of Rock.” The show featured six student bands, the headliner being Mothers of Intention.
It was a great event and had a lot to offer, students who wanted to take a break from the music were outside enjoying some burgers or soda, as well as playing KanJam. Three Rock Combo bands started off the event. First came Temporary Ostrich Problem at 2:00 p.m. They were followed by Hello, Seattle, and afterwards came Twisted Fister.
SUCO Jam band Wumbology came on around 4:00. The band is led by professor Joe Pignato, and has a very interesting style. They had elements of funk and blues, but always maintained an undercurrent of jam band improvisation in their music.
After Wumbology came Mrs. Murphy’s Bastards, the new SUCO Irish Bar Band, directed by professor Anthony Scafide. The band brought out everyone’s inner Irish as the band rocked out on stage, creating a perfect bridge to the headliner of the night, Frank Zappa cover band Mothers of Intention.
The band is led by guitarist/vocalist Mark Pawkett, who is also a professor at SUNY Oneonta. The band came on at 8:30, and for their set they played the album “Joe’s Garage.” The group was very extensive, and utilized a total of ten musicians to recreate all of the different sounds found on the album.
The group consisted of two keyboardists, three guitarists, a bassist, a drummer and a percussionist, and two backup singers. There were four mics on stage, as Pawkett and keyboardist Darcy Gibson took turns with the lead vocals. Gibson had the responsibility of providing the more experimental vocals, and even had a megaphone in which he performed the spoken-word interludes in-between tracks, as featured on the album.
The band did a spot-on job of creating the one-of-a-kind circus that is the music of Frank Zappa. The stage featured a head and limbless manikin, as well as a non-descript white tarp on the floor. Gibson at times wore masks, and showcased an impressive range of vocal styles, mirroring Zappa himself.
The effort put forth to recreate the album was evident, as the band brought out many different instruments during the performance. A kazoo was played in parts, as well as a fantastic harmonica solo from Gibson during the song “Crew Slut.” The band executed the progressive rock mentality of the album to perfection. The ability of the 10 members to stay on point throughout the many fluctuations and odd time signatures was impressive.
The audience clearly loved the event. As only a Zappa fan can appreciate, members were laughing during the sarcastic and satirical words during the interludes, and raising their hands in enjoyment during the songs. Many members stayed seated during the performance – Zappa’s work is music of the mind as much as the body – and chose to relish the experience on a more cerebral level.
The goofy and haphazard nature of the album was in full effect thanks to the Mother’s of Intention, and the band clearly enjoyed themselves. This translated nicely to the audience, creating a fun night for all. Mother’s of Intention is a very talented group of musicians, and their performance capped off an extensive night of music after a day of rock. No matter what kind of music people were into, there were good times had by all at the Oneonta Theatre on Saturday.
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