By COURTNEY GUTTENBERG
Staff Writer
Having a major that has to do with music at Saint Rose can be incredibly helpful if you would like to start a band. Networking and meeting other musicians with similar taste to yours is just one of the rewarding experiences the Saint Rose music program has to offer.
The members of Morris Code can attest to this, as they all came together after meeting at Saint Rose. The band consists of both Saint Rose alum and current students: vocalist Conor Donovan, guitarist Jesse Rawson, bassist Kyle Salcedo, keyboardist Dan Milici and drummer Dan Walker. Founded in 2014, the band has a unique combination of rock and blues sounds.
I got the chance to sit down with Conor and Jesse to talk about the beginning of Morris Code, their aspirations and what the future holds for them.
Q: You guys all met through Saint Rose, correct?
DONOVAN: Yes. We’re all either students or alumni of Saint Rose.
RAWSON: Basically I found myself in a situation where I was in a rehearsal space that turned into a place for shows, and my roommates all formed a band with another lead singer. Conor, myself and the two Dans in the band found ourselves in the basement just jamming one day, and it just kind of happened.
DONOVAN: We were originally going to be a one-night thing, but we just kept that momentum going.
RAWSON: At that point we referred to ourselves as Sound Monastery, and that was the original four. We kept playing, we recorded a demo and we realized there was no low-end. Dan [Milici] had lived with this guy Kyle [Salcido] who used to be a music major here, so that’s how we got him as a bass player. So really, Saint Rose is how we all met, but more specifically, I was the director for the college mass last year and Dan [Milici] was my piano player, and Conor sang in the group. That was how the three of us gelled, musically.
Q: What made you guys want to start a band?
DONOVAN: Jealousy [of Rawson’s roommates’ band].
RAWSON: I guess, honestly, yeah. Junior year started and this was also a good outlet. So jealousy and a good stress reliever.
Q: What lead you all to want to play your specific genre?
DONOVAN: We just sort of happened into that, based on all our different musical backgrounds. We just sort of came into this alternative rock sound.
RAWSON: The music I listen to most is classic rock, but I like everything. Sometimes I’ll listen to orchestral, sometimes I’ll just listen to the hardest stuff that I can find. But I think the defining piece of our sound is our keyboard player, Dan Milici. I think that he is very blues oriented. He can play so much like Billy Joel. His style is the center of our sound. And then when we added Kyle on bass, he’s really into heavier stuff, like Between the Buried and Me. Now we’re starting to branch out a bit, like “Takeover” has a really Spanish sound to it at points.
DONOVAN: The differences in our training melded pretty well together.
Q: What made you guys want to start playing music in general?
DONOVAN: We were all here as music majors, or were music majors at one point. We all just really love music. We all really love to play.
RAWSON: I grew up in inner city Albany and was just like, “I need a hobby.” I originally started playing something that looks like the tuba, which is what I actually major in here. Guitar, I learned when I was 12. I spent a good couple of years focusing on that. I love, love, love playing orchestral stuff on a brass instrument, but I also love doing these shows on guitar and getting those two different worlds.
Q: What’s your current focus? Are you more interested in doing shows or writing, as of now?
DONOVAN: We’re in a little bit of both right now. We’re very focused on getting our name out there, trying to get as much attention as we possibly can get, but we’re also on the cusp of this last EP, which has been met with some great results. A lot of people like it. We’re trying to build up a lot more original material, ‘cause we were originally mostly covers, so now we’re trying to move out of that venue and become a band that does its own stuff.
RAWSON: October was our gig-heavy month. Now we’re going to take November and write, and we have a show in early December, and then in 2016 [we’ll be playing] more shows. I’m personally going to take all of November and just write.
Q: What is your writing process like?
DONOVAN: A lot of what we do is group based. Someone will come in with a [guitar] lick, or somebody will come in with some lyrics, and a lot of the times we’ll work on it together. Other times, different bandmates will bring complete ideas and we’ll play through the song a couple times and we’ll go from there to make it groove together as a band project.
RAWSON: Those are my favorite. I’m very much the kind of songwriter that’s like “chords, lyrics.” From there, I like to let people interpret as they will, and then it becomes a band project. Our bass player, Kyle, is a terrific songwriter, and he writes down to the tee, right up until it comes to the voice part. Our keyboard player wrote a song that was on the EP also that is very jazzy, and he wrote that all himself. Our first single, “Don’t Count Me Out,” was all of us in the basement like, “That sounds OK. Conor, try some words!” It developed into this song that people first started to get to know us by.
Q: What is your favorite song to play live?
DONOVAN: For me, my favorite song is “Takeover.” It’s just a song that gets people pumped up. It’s got a really good driving guitar part, my vocal part is very exciting, the words are very cool. Everybody has a really great riff. It’s just something that keeps the blood pumping.
RAWSON: See, that’s your favorite, but that’s one that I wrote. I find that I really enjoy performing songs other members have written. My favorite original we play has got to be “Only Me to Blame,” which is one that our bass player wrote. It’s so funky and great. Right now, that’s my favorite original, but my favorite cover is “Joker and the Thief” by Wolfmother. It’s just so much fun.
Q: Contrasting that, what was your favorite song that you guys have written, and why?
DONOVAN: Now that’s a different question. I’d say my favorite song that we’ve written has probably been “Watching Stars,” ‘cause to me, that song came from a much more meaningful place than our other stuff. Not to say that we don’t write about meaningful things, but “Watching Stars” I can really connect to the emotion of that song, and I feel like the audience can, too.
RAWSON: Yeah. “Watching Stars” is our ballad. It’s the one that’s smack dab in the middle of our EP. It allows for so much expansion towards the end of it.
Q: What’s the biggest goal you hope to accomplish, as a band?
RAWSON: I imagine that differs from person to person. I want to be a music educator, who gigs. I want this to be a very successful… I don’t want to say side project, because this is a focus of mine.
DONOVAN: What I would like to see from Morris Code is that I would like to see us get a big enough following, like maybe something here in Albany, or maybe I can bring in some fans from where I’m from in Massachusetts. I’d just generally like to see us gigging and recording as long as we possibly can.
Q: And what would you say the biggest goal is that you’ve accomplished so far?
DONOVAN: I think that would be the EP.
RAWSON: The EP or having our first major gig be at The Hollow, which happened very fast. We just kind of got lucky and landed the gig. Also, I would say the Drink Albany [a craft beer festival] event, because we played for hundreds of people who had never heard us before. We played for hundreds of people who did not show up to see us, and walking off stage had people who had never met us come up and say, “You guys were great. I will remember you.” That was a really great feeling.
Q: What is your favorite thing about the Albany scene?
DONOVAN: It’s not as cutthroat as some other places. There’s a lot more camaraderie in the music scene in Albany [than in New York City, Boston]. There’s a good balance in Albany of competition and camaraderie.
RAWSON: And diversity. When Bogies closed, that’s a loss. That niche needs to be filled. Albany has that. Albany has everything from The Palace Theatre to The Egg to Bogies to The Fuze Box to The Hollow, Parish Public House… there’s just so much. There’s such a rich diversity. There’s competition, but there’s more so of a respect for the different genres and styles that come out from different bands, from different areas, with different backgrounds.
Q: What is your favorite venue that you’ve ever played at?
DONOVAN: I’ve gotta give it to The Handsome Devil [in Newburgh, NY]. The people were very nice, the food was great, the audience was super receptive, and it’s just a good space.
RAWSON: Drink Albany was the coolest gig, but I would have to say The Handsome Devil. They paid us, free food, free drinks and everyone was so nice.
Q: And what was/is your favorite local venue to play at?
BOTH: [in unison] The Hollow.
Q: If you could sum up your band or band experience in one word, what would it be?
RAWSON: Unexpected.
DONOVAN: Yeah, I would agree.
Q: If the world was ending and your band had to be remembered for one thing, what would it be? Would it be a specific gig, a feeling, anything?
DONOVAN: I would say our stage presence and the way we carry ourselves on stage. I want people to remember us as performers.
RAWSON: See, I want people to remember the music.
Q: What part of the Albany scene has helped you the most as a band?
DONOVAN: The experiences I’ve had here at the College of Saint Rose has definitely made me a more savvy musician, performer and even technician.
RAWSON: Once we got into exploring social media, random Albany groups would share our stuff. Seeing that there’s actually people looking for this stuff and willing to share it is really cool.
Q: That leads me to my final question: what part of Saint Rose has helped you the most as a band?
RAWSON: We recorded our EP here, and it’s a really good fanbase.
Morris Code is available for live events and would love for anyone willing to book them to get in touch with them. They’re very interested in playing Rose Rock, and I hope to see them there. You can check them out on Facebook at facebook.com/morriscodealbany and listen to their EP on Bandcamp at morriscodeband.bandcamp.com.
