You’ve probably heard them in Herter and seen their members schlepping their amps and guitars from across campus to come together in a great noisefest right near one of the main walkways on campus, or maybe you’ve seen a flier for them or heard about a concert they’re putting on, or maybe have even seen some of their members play at some of the TedX concerts. Regardless, the UMass Association of Musical Performers, or AMP, is steadily starting to make waves on campus for the spring semester, culminating in a large outdoor concert in late April that should be one of the biggest live music events of the year for UMass.
AMP is a club that invites any and all musicians to come jam, form bands, and can find them shows to play, from what they put on themselves to open mics around the area to working with other RSOs that need music. All ability levels are accepted, from instrumental neophytes to people who could easily be music majors. The club was formed as an alternative to the music major program, taking a more DIY aspect to the music and being more accepting and nurturing to the talents of the musicians, encouraging collaboration and trading knowledge.
The club also serves as a place where more experienced musicians can form bands and keep the talents they’ve honed in other bands fresh, with current and former members of Massachusetts-based bands such as The Symptoms, Rainy Day Activities, Secret Jam Society, Bosco, Raft Nasty, The Vibecasters, June and the Bee, Watt’s Closet, and many more keeping their skills fresh during the school year and helping the new musicians get their bearings through jam challenges and after-hours rehearsal.
Founded in 2012, the current board contains sophomores Mitch Bordage and Sarah Addi as the president and vice-president respectively, with Ben Bosco as the organizational specialist/logistics coordinator, and Nick Morrison as the treasurer.
This has been working a lot on getting the wheels in motion for the semester, booking a concert on March 6 at 6:00pm in Earthfoods, a concert in Earthfoods on March 26, and the big outdoor spectacular (tentatively titled “AMPed Up!” – but that’s still in the works) on April 26 on the hill between Central and Orchard Hill. You can expect more in-depth coverage of the board members in subsequent articles.
The remarkable thing about this club is the aforementioned DIY aesthetic, in that everything is done with our own equipment, spaces, and (limited) funds. Through mismanagement of the RSO startup money by the former managers, this whole thing has been based on making do with what we have and pooling together to get equipment, transport, and being responsible for keeping it all in our rooms and cars since there’s no space that we can call our own. The guys in Watts’ Closet brought a PA and drumset, and many people have brought amps and guitars.
It’s really turned into a collective family, which is inevitable when you spend multiple hours every week forming a musical bond with people through jamming and harmonization, but we’re always looking for new members, so if any of you Collegiettes want to sing or play guitar, drums, ukulele, saxophone, banjo, or whatever, we’ll always welcome you with open arms.