Trade Eight band members. Pictured (left to right) Mary Calden, Ivan Rocks, Alex Parra, Aidan Febus, Jose Arroyo, Kevin Beckett and Sam Wofford.
@TRADDEEIGHTBAND / INSTAGRAM
María Castaño, Arts & Entertainment Editor
The remnants of last spring’s album class have taken shape as the new band Trade Eight, formed by Manhattan University (MU) alumni Kevin Beckett, Sam Wofford and Billy Walker, who acts as their social media manager, alongside current students Mary Calden, Ivan Rocks, Alex Parra, Aidan Febus and Jose Arroyo.
Beckett, the band’s lead singer and guitarist, brought the group together after playing Billy Joel’s “The Stranger” alongside them and other students in the spring. The gig at local bar An Beal Bocht Cafe marked the band’s first performance together outside of the classroom setting. Since then, they’ve played at The Heritage Bar over the summer, and are set to perform next at MU’s Halloween Bash on Oct. 23 in the quad, followed by another show at An Beal Bocht Cafe on Oct. 24.
Febus, a junior biochemistry major and the band’s saxophonist, said Beckett used Billy Joel’s music as a way to blend the members’ varied musical backgrounds into a cohesive sound.
“We all played in [album class], and it was that Billy Joel old-time rock and roll,” Febus said. “Beckett really liked us all playing together, so he decided to group us all.”
Febus described Beckett as an attentive bandleader.
“He’s [Beckett] very much aware of the band,” Febus said. “He knows what everyone’s playing, what everyone’s doing, and he’s a good frontman. He gives attention to a lot of the band. He doesn’t keep it on himself, even though he’s the one singing most of the time.”
Because the band is relatively new, members consider themselves primarily a cover band while they work to develop their own sound. Arroyo explained that the process blends spontaneous performance with more structured rehearsal.
“During the rehearsals, if it’s a song that doesn’t have a horn line in it, I’ll make a horn line up, or someone will make something up, and then we’ll just try it until it works,” Arroyo said.
Arroyo explained that improvisation carries over into live shows as well.
“You’ll have something in your head that you think would sound really cool in this moment,” Arroyo said. “Start playing it, and the sax player, Febus, would catch on to what I’m playing. We have so many people in the band, so trying to control our sound is a challenge, but it’s also very rewarding.”
Febus, Arroyo and Rocks are all members of MU’s jazz club, reflecting the band’s roots in the genre. Febus explained his own interest in saxophone began in childhood, listening to salsa and merengue with his father, though he described himself as “mainly a jazz guy.”
Rocks, a civil engineering major, who plays drums for the band, said those varied backgrounds give the group creative freedom as they look ahead.
“At the moment, the goal is simply to play with each other more and develop a band identity over time,” Rocks said. “Because we all like different things, it’s a total hodgepodge of all sorts of different sounds. We’llplay rock music, folk music, jazz rock fusion, some ska, some punk, a pop ballad. We do everything.”
The band’s name carries a double meaning, referencing both a jazz technique and the number of people involved with the group. Calden, a junior English and communications major, who plays piano and sings for the band, explained the musical reference.
“Arroyo came up with this name, and it references trade loosely,” Calden said. “In music, especially in jazz, when you play you can trade solos, and so they’ll say trade four or trade eight, as in bars. So, it’s like someone will solo for eight bars, and then someone solos for eight bars, and then they respond to each other.”
Arroyo, who came up with the name alongside Febus, said the “eight” also accounts for Walker’s role with the group.
“Technically we’re a seven-piece,” Arroyo said. “But our good friend, Walker, we always include him as a member of the band because he’s always there with us and he’s always doing [social media] stuff. So, he’s the eighth member.”
Several members have expressed interest in writing original music for the band. Arroyo further discussed that the process is already underway.
“We actually do have a lot of originals that are being worked on currently,” Arroyo said. “Beckett has a lot of stuff that he has written, and we’ve definitely worked on it. I feel like just starting with covers is a great way to get the sound together first, and then bringing in writing. I think that’s the point where we are now.”
Calden said the band reflects the range of artistic talent within MU’s performing arts department.
“[Trade Eight] is a cool manifestation of the music at MU and the different people in the performing arts department with so many different interests,” Calden said. “It’s turned into a really, really cool thing and it’s made some cool music, so it just goes to show how much is under the surface here that you don’t necessarily know about until that all shows up.”