Meet Midnight Rambler Andrew Polec ’11

1. Can you talk about your experience as a Midnight Rambler?
 
My experience with the Ramblers has been nothing short of amazing. When you are with a bunch of kids who like to sing as much as you do, you are able to let yourself go and have the time of your life. On stage, I try to be as crazy as possible, because I know another Rambler is always trying to one-up me with his own level of craziness. In this way, we end up getting the whole group to burst with energy and excitement.
 
This excitement is also due to the fact that we love what we sing. Whether the song is as upbeat as “Party in the USA” by Miley Cyrus or as darkly alternative as “Knights of Cydonia” by Muse, we always rock out. We always try “Ramblify” (make songs sound cool and fun) songs we hear on the radio and with an abundance of genres to choose from, I feel like a capella can never get boring.
 
Also, how could I leave out the thrill of being in front of an audience? I owe a lot of my joy in Ramblers to the amazing audiences we have. Whether it’s singing to a group of people at a Ronald McDonald House, an assembly at an elementary school, or a packed Strong Auditorium it is always amazing to connect with people and make them happy.
 
Of course there are always the amazing spring break trips as well. We have been to places like Los Angeles, Miami, and New Orleans. In New Orleans, we did a pro-bono tour to support music programs in secondary schools. Not only did we sing for a bunch of schools, but we even helped build someone a new house through Operation Southern Comfort.
 
In the end, what really matters is that I am part of a group of friends who have a blast for six hours a week singing. I would not trade my experience with the Ramblers for the world.
 
2. Who are your favorite artists? Who influences you the most?
 
This is always a tough question. I am influenced by crazy alternative rock bands like Circa Survive, the Mars Volta, Brainiac, and Foxy Shazam.  However, when you become part of a group that sings a lot of songs you hear on the radio, you kind of have to change your mindset. This new mindset involves artists like Lady Gaga, Justin Timberlake, Kanye, Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj (who is absolutely insane). Even Justin Bieber is growing on me. It’s too bad everyone has an immediate reaction of disgust towards the kid because he has a really good voice and catchy melodies.
 
When it comes to stage performing, though, I pull a lot of my moments from the lead singers of the Mars Volta, Foxy Shazam, and the Rolling Stones. They all have unique and lively ways of tearing up the stage. They act as crazy as possible while dancing like maniacs. It’s kind of hard to sing when you’re moving so much though – thank god for inhalers.
 
3. What are your future aspirations?
 
My future aspirations involve being a rockstar, actor, and entrepeneur. What can I say, those are the things that bring me the most joy right now and who knows what the future holds.

 
4. What is your major?

My Majors are in English and Music. I originally came to this school as a pre-med, but I’ve since realized that I pass out at the sight of needles and will not go to a blood drive even if I have to save someone’s life. I mean, just kidding, but seriously… you would have to knock me out before you started taking blood out of my arm. Wow, I’m feeling faint just from typing this.
 
5. Where are you from?
 
I am from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With my long blonde hair and exotic clothing, many people think I am from California, but alas… East Coast blood runs through me.
 
6. How do you feel about graduating and leaving the Midnight Ramblers?
 
Well, to tell you the truth, I am not leaving the Ramblers next year. I was accepted into the KEY Program for next year. Through the Program, I am trying to set up a student-run record label for all the music groups we have on campus. I guess if I was leaving the ramblers, I would be very unhappy, but I am really psyched to be singing with them for another year.
 
7. What can we expect from this upcoming show?
 
You can expect quality songs, amazing videos, and a pumped group of guys who can’t wait to have a lot of fun. Our theme this year is based on Mean Girls and some of our members have been total drama queens, but I’m sure everything will work out. I just hope that the music doesn’t stop when we dress up in our sassy santa outfits and sing “Jingle Bell Rock”, that would be really awkward… Anyway, expect lots of audience participation for some of the songs and a night of pure ecstasy.
 
 
Fun fact:Whenever we travel somewhere, people usually think we’re a baseball team. We don’t look very athletic in our Rambler’s jerseys, but we do give people a huge shock when we break out into four-part harmony.