Leadership hosted its second annual school Outside Lands, where student bands performed on the Green from Tuesday through Friday. Over the four lunch periods, one band took the stage for a remarkable performance each day.
Tuesday: Coastal Problems
To commence the first day of Outside Lands, Coastal Problems, made up of sophomore lead singer Justice Toilolo, sophomore guitarist Joseph Sanft, and junior ukulele player Sione Tahaafe, performed. They delivered a phenomenal show with their combined melodies on ukulele and guitar.
The band opened with a cover of “Honey Baby” by Three Plus, which sparked liveliness and excitement. Throughout the lunch period, they performed a total of eight songs, drawing students to the Green to listen and have fun with friends.
“The ‘Party in the U.S.A.’ [was great]. I thought that was nice because we’re in the U.S.A., and it’s a party every day. I just thought it was a nice cover,” junior audience member Stephanie Sung said.
To end the first day of Outside Lands, students gave requests, such as “Apple of My eye” by The Four Lovers, for the last few songs the band played. The band’s skill drew students’ cheers as they celebrated the performers with lots of enthusiasm.
“This is our first time [playing together], [but] we’ve always sang together,” Toilolo said. “I think it went great, but just a lot of stage fright.”
Wednesday: Frawg
Day two boasted the band, Frawg, consisting of junior drummer Kai Goyert, junior bassist Quinn Loftus, sophomore guitarist William Dietz, and junior vocalist Zak Rasmussen, who created a thrilling performance of heavy metal hits.
“All of this music stuff that people have been playing at Battle of the Bands and all that stuff. It’s jazz, and it’s soft rock. We’re here to actually bring some feeling into this,” Rasmussen said.
Frawg played many songs throughout their performance, but notably commenced with “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath, which brought the energy up.
“This event brought me out here, especially because Zak is one of my good friends,” junior Bradley Portillo said. “I had to come show support.”
As lunch came to an end, students started chanting for one more song. Frawg closed out their set by performing a strong rendition of “Killing in the Name” by Rage Against the Machine.
“I think that [performing] was one of the best times I’ve had. I give it like a 10 out of 10,” Rasmussen said.
Thursday: Table For One
Day three of Outside Lands introduced Table For One. As the largest band to perform, it was composed of trumpet players senior James Cordero* and senior Calvin Blanford, junior trombone player Jaime Parada-Hernandez, junior drummer Nir Marcovitz, sophomore bassist Henrique Carvalho, and junior guitarist Uta Ueno. The two main vocalists were senior Drea Valencia and Blanford.
“We play out in the community a little. We do some busking out in Palo Alto, but you know, we practice together. We thought we sounded good, so we wanted to share it with the school,” Blanford said.
“I feel like the music brings a vibe,” senior and audience member TJ Stephens said. “[Outside Lands] brings a fun environment, and it’s bringing more people over here.”
Friday: Goat Rodeo
Goat Rodeo took the stage on the final day and brought hype and a crowd to the Green, building off their Battle of the Bands win last May. The band includes vocalist Blanford, drummer Marcovitz, bassist Carvalho, and senior guitarists Evan Chopra and Matthew Teeple.
With the largest crowd all week, the Green was filled with anticipation and noise for Goat Rodeo’s performance. Students cheered throughout lunch and recorded videos of their great ending performance of “Say It Ain’t So” by Weezer.
“We had Leadership ask us if we’d be willing to play, and we said yes. This is a really fun performance. We thought, ‘Might as well,’” Teeple said.
The four days of Outside Lands brought talent and live music to campus lunches. “I think it’s nice to see what people that you don’t know can do and love,” Sung said.
*James Cordero is a journalist for the M-A Chronicle.
