Maybe you’ve heard about The Music Alliance (TMA). They’ve been giving out free CDs in the Dining Hall, and they’ve been putting on concerts at Brighton Bar. The Music Alliance is a new club designed to give students who want to work in the music industry some experience.
Co-founder Andrew Boxman described The Music Alliance: “We had an idea to unite the members of the music industry program at Monmouth by creating a club where we could promote all of our music while gaining the experience of actually working in the music industry…Whether as a musical artist, solo or in a band, or someone who wants to work behind the scenes, TMA allows individuals to follow their dreams of playing music for a living while gaining career building, team building experience,” Boxman said.
Boxman, a sophomore, raps as a part of Joe and Box with Joe Urso, and co-founder Steve Curtis raps under the name Slick Chops. That doesn’t mean anything about the acts with The Music Alliance. Their promotional album contains rock, folk, pop and rap. They welcome all genres of music, and they regularly have jam sessions on Fridays.
According to Boxman, it was the right time to start a club like this because of the sense of community among music students. “The community we have is special; it’s about the music and through that we so easily build friendships and have fun while doing so. We knew that this would come about if we actually got it off the ground and it’s been a great time,” Boxman said.
They work with many bands that have been Student Spotlight features in this section such as Seasons, 99 Regrets, Natalie Zeller and Climax Race.
Seasons’ lead vocalist, junior Bryan Haring, was excited to join The Music Alliance. Haring said, “When The Music Alliance had its first meeting, I was immediately attracted to the high level of energy and enthusiasm of all its members; we are driven by our ambition and desire to see ourselves, as well as our friends, succeed.”
They are not just jamming out though. The Music Alliance handles various business aspects of the music industry as well. “We do things like organize concerts for ourselves by handling all promotion and creating unique strategies. We try to fill the venues and popularize the music. Booking studio sessions, collaborating with musicians, social media marketing, and photography/film shoots for artists,” Boxman said.
As up and coming musicians, these are tasks artists usually have to face on their own. 99 Regrets lead singer Guy Battaglia, freshman, is grateful for the assistance. Battaglia said, “It’s a win/win because by sharing everyone’s fans, the fans are being exposed to every artist. As a music industry major, I love helping artists and receiving help along with helping is a good deal.”
While music majors make up much of The Music Alliance, don’t think non-music majors are unwelcome. Boxman assured that The Music Alliance is open to all majors. Boxman said, “Any student can join The Music Alliance. We are built off of the love for music and anyone who shares that feeling is welcome. Also, anyone looking for good experience in an industry can benefit by joining the Alliance.”
Boxman has big dreams for The Music Alliance. Boxman said, “I would like to see the club help the musical culture grow within Monmouth; I want people to see how much talent exists within the University. We want our artists to gain as much success as possible toward accomplishing their goal, whether that goal is becoming a platinum selling artist or a popular underground group within a music scene. Long term we would like to see the club branch out to other universities and spread the love for music.”
On April 11, fans can attend their concert, The 411, at Brighton Bar. The all ages show starts at 7 pm, features about a dozen musicians from the university and tickets are $10. For tickets, call 908-692-5074.
For now, you can look up The Music Alliance on Facebook and YouTube.
Meetings for The Music Alliance are on Wednesdays at 2:30 in Woods Theatre. After two meetings, attendees become official members. For more information on joining, email themusicalliance1@gmail.com.
