The Help Wanted Band prepares to perform at the Lotus Halloween Bash. Pictured (left to right): Lucia Kobayashi, Alex Parra, Ivan Rocks, Ben Domingo and Jack Devaney.
@JACKDEVANEY7 / INSTAGRAM
By Laili Shahrestani, Staff Writer
Five Jaspers have collaborated to create an alternative rock band called Help Wanted to share their art with individuals both on and off campus. The group consists of sophomores Alex Parra, Jack Devaney, Ben Domingo, Lucia Kobayashi and newest addition, freshman Ivan Rocks.
Help Wanted made their first debut performance on Oct. 26 at the Lotus Halloween Bash, where they put on a show outside Squeri Hall. This was their first-ever performance as a complete band of five.
Parra, the guitarist of Help Wanted, mentioned that he had a great time performing at the Halloween Bash. He expressed how the band struggled with technical difficulties prior to the show, yet still managed to put on a successful first performance.
“I had a lot of fun,” Parra said. “It was stressful because it took a while to get everything set up, and we had some technical difficulties. But overall, as far as our first performance goes, and only practicing with Ivan for a week before the show, I think we did very well. We just had fun. We just played the songs that we love.”
Rocks is a freshman and is the newest member of the band. He joined the group as a drummer in October, and was still able to adjust to the group in time for the Halloween Bash performance.
Rocks expressed his enthusiasm for his new position in the band this year. He spoke about how he felt accomplished after his first show and looks forward to the band’s future.
“For me, performing in a rock band is just a very fun and cool thing,” Rocks said. “The people are great. We make great stuff. I’m glad to be a part of it. I viewed the performance as a watershed moment, a moment of progress.”
Help Wanted’s performance received positive feedback from Jaspers who attended the event. Students around campus emphasized that the band showcased art and talent through their music.
Giada Dougherty, a freshman communication major, spoke to The Quadrangle about how Help Wanted’s Halloween Bash performance brought people together through their music. She highlighted how the band radiated passion and creativity during their performance.
“It is important to showcase the talent of students in order to influence other students, especially freshmen, to come out of their shell and start something they have always wanted to do,” Doughtery said. “For me, the band opened my taste to different genres of music and helped me appreciate the creativity that others put into their music. Music brings people together, and having peers showcase it to all of us out on the quad last Saturday brought a sense of community.”
When it comes to the future of Help Wanted, band members expressed that they are currently recording and putting out new songs and planning upcoming events at venues across New York City.
Devaney, the lead singer of Help Wanted, spoke about his idea to collaborate with other bands on the rise to perform shows together in the near future.
“I’ve talked to another band actually, Thrush, and we want to do shows together,” Devaney said. “There are a lot of venues in New York City that will welcome us, but typically want to have more than one band. So we had to put in a little bit of work in preparation. But, there are so many opportunities in the city. So that’s the next avenue we’re going to pursue, as well as getting more music out and recording.”
Parra added to the idea of wanting to perform more shows by telling The Quadrangle that his ultimate goal with the band was to tour the nation. He emphasized that going on a tour with the rest of Help Wanted is his dream.
“The biggest dream here is to record stuff, for it to take some route, and for people to like it,” Parra said. “That saying, I would love to tour. I would love to tour the country. I mean, of course, I think we all like to use music to speak to people, and we’d love to play it around the country.”
Parra went on to speak about how, as a musician, he feels it is important for him and his bandmates to create music their audience can connect with. Parra noted how he hopes Help Wanted’s music leaves their listeners with an emotional reaction or response.
“I hope we’re creating something, pieces of music that resonate,” Parra said. “Resonate and strike some memorable emotional chord. People don’t even realize it, but they’re humming the song the next day. You know, we want to create something that sticks with people.
Ben Domingo, the bassist of Help Wanted, explained how the band’s chemistry creates a productive environment where ideas flow freely. Domingo emphasized that when all five of the band members put their minds and contributions together, they can create music that they are “incredibly proud of.”
“When we focus, we make some pretty cool songs, and we all just combine our brains together,” Domingo said. “And sometimes, Alex and I, for example, will just be sitting there, and then come up with a masterpiece. And then, our new drummer here, Ivan, will tell us we can change things up a little bit too. So we’re going to pop out music faster this time as well.”