This popular alternative rock band made up of HWS students always impresses us with their amazing music and exciting performances. Meet the members of Call Security: Michelle Poulin, Peter Keller, Tucker Jennings and Ben Scheibel!
Michelle Poulin: Guitar
Class year: 2015
Majors: Anthropology and Asian Studies
Hometown: Portland, ME
Peter Keller: Bass
Class year: 2015Â
Majors: History and Music
Hometown:Â Albany, NY
Tucker Jennings: Drums
Class year:Â 2014
Major: English
Hometown: Roxbury, CT
Ben Scheibel: Vocals
Class year:Â 2014
Major: English
Hometown:Â Auburn, NY
HC: When was Call Security formed? How did you come up with the name “Call Security”?
CS: The band was formed in the Fall of 2011 as a cover band. Just a few students who wanted to play some shows around campus. We would find a couple of times a week that we could meet in Williams Hall to rehearse. Because of our schedules, the only times we could meet were normally late at night, and none of us had a key, so we would have to call security (Campus Safety) to come unlock the doors. “Is security on their way?” “Did you call security to let us in?” Eventually we just decided, wow, we have to do this every day. We are Call Security.
HC: What else are you guys involved in on campus?
BS: I’m a semi-frequent visiting, supportive alum.
MP: Peter and I are involved with a few other music groups on campus. Peter is also an Resident Assistant (RA). I work for Admissions, am an Anthropology Teaching Fellow, and studied abroad in Taiwan last semester.Â
HC: Where do you find inspiration for your music?
BS: I was talking to Peter recently about Taylor Swift, and he had a great point. I am paraphrasing, but it went something like this: “Some people complain about Taylor Swift being some crazy girl that only writes about breakups and heartbreak. But I don’t get that. If you’re a musician, and you think something is significant enough to write a song about, you just write the damn song.” Whether people like your music or not is not really something you have a lot of control over, but that doesn’t matter. The song is more for you than it is for them. Inspiration comes in many different forms, and a song is just a way of expressing the experience.
HC: What have been your biggest struggles?
CS: It’s been difficult at times to balance schoolwork with band priorities, but we’ve always managed to work through it.Â
HC: What are you most proud of as a group?
MP: I’m proud of the time and commitment we’ve put into the band. Even after four years, we’re still working toward our goals, and we hope to continue working on them after Peter and I graduate.Â
HC: What are your goals as a band?
CS: Right now we’re working on building our fan base and developing our presence online and in the media, as well as playing more live shows and festivals.
HC: Any big projects in the near future that we should look out for?
CS:Â We were selected, along with a few other bands, to participate in a night of Madonna cover songs, where each band chooses a few Madonna songs to cover and puts their own spin on them. This will take place at the Cracker Factory in Geneva on March 28th.
Â
Like Call Security on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/thishasonlyjustbegun) to stay up to date on upcoming shows and new projects, and check out their music video for “Small Talk” at http://www.callsecuritymusic.com/cs_videos.html.Â