Cedars, January 2019

January 2019 15 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT by Kellyn Post S eth Tew, a sophomore communica- tions major, along with his fellow members of the band Elsie, wants to create and perform songs with a left-of-cen- ter musical aesthetic that ask questions and evoke complicated emotions. The vision for the band began with Tew, a songwriter with experience in studio re- cording and music production, who pursued his desire to take his music in a new direction and to collaborate with other musicians. “I was definitely making a different kind of music than I previously was, and so it was making more sense to go with a full band,” Tew said. “I also wanted to see what musical collaboration is like in a living, breathing, multipersonal kind of deal.” Tew also wanted to form a band to achieve a sound and style of music that he could not accomplish on his own. At Cedarville, he found other students who shared his vision and taste in music: Jacob Harris, a sophomore pre-law major and the band’s bass player; Jordan Mullins, a first-year pharmacy graduate student and drummer; and Caleb Stover, a sophomore industrial design major and an electric gui- tarist and synth player. “I love experimental, alternative mu- sic,” Tew said. “So I wanted to go that route, and to go that route I would need electric guitars that were willing to make ambient noises, and I play synth, and keys, and I sing, so I can’t do that.” In his search for a guitar player, Tew met Harris, and the two began meeting to- gether for casual jam sessions. They formed the band Elsie with Mullins and Stover in the fall of 2018. Tew and Harris share a love of experimental, alternative music, as well as the desire to move toward performing live music. Harris said that Tew suggested the name Elsie for the band during a brain- storming session in Stinger’s, and Harris liked the idea. The name, Tew said, was par- tially inspired by the name of a character in a story which Tew was writing about musi- cians. The name also does not suggest any particular style of music, which gives the band room to develop its own style. “[The name] is different, but it doesn’t instantly call up a restrictive picture,” Tew said. “The visualization is incredibly flexi- ble, and in the past when I’ve been trying to name stuff, it was just way too constrictive.” Elsie’s aesthetic is influenced by both the style of ’80s music and the themes of ’90s music, as well as current alternative rock. One of Tew’s inspirations for writing music for Elsie is the music of Alvvays, a Canadian band that he says evokes a sense of bitter- sweet nostalgia. Harris also suggested that Elsie draws inspiration from ’90s music. “One of my favorite things about [’90s music] is that they capture this very melan- choly, kind of down, dark sense, but they package it in upbeat, catchy songs,” Harris said. “I’m not saying we do exactly that, but I like that concept a lot.” While Elsie is still in the development stage, the band members share a desire to work toward live performances in the future. Tew, with his background in both communications and broadcasting and dig- ital media courses, wants to apply that expe- rience to the management of his own band, while the other members are looking for- ward to the experience of playing live music. “Playing shows is fun, and it’s what ev- erybody strives for,” Mullins shared. “Not a lot of people do that anymore, so to be able to do that and take it that far is a big accom- plishment, honestly.” In the future, Elsie’s band members hope to perform music that will have an im- pact on listeners, not as explicitly Christian music, but as artistic and excellently written and performed music. “We are indwelt by the Spirit,” Harris said. “We’re just humans speaking to hu- mans about human things, but we do it from a sanctified perspective.” Tew also echoed the desire to create mu- sic that reflects his faith and that stands out because of its quality and artistic integrity. “We are Christians, and so that means that our mindset is renewed,” Tew shared. “I want this band to be excellently different. To be quality and to strive to portray exactly artistically what it desires to. And that will be different.” Through their collaboration and shared vision, the members of Elsie — all from majors outside of the music and wor- ship department — express their love of left-of-center music and artistic creation at the same time that they strive for excel- lence and the glory of God in their music. Kellyn Post is a senior English major and an arts and entertainment writer for Ce- dars. In her spare time, she enjoys drinking black tea, listening to musicals, and read- ing books written before she was born. Excellently Different Members of Elsie, a new student band, share their vision Photo by Lauren Jacobs Seth Tew (center): Vocals, synth, keys. Fun fact: He is a quirky individual never afraid to be himself. Jordan Mullins (left): Drums. Fun fact: When he’s not with the band, he likes to play the drums. Caleb Stover (right): Electric guitar, synth. Fun fact: His lifelong dream is to be a cowboy. Jacob Harris (not pictured): Bass. Fun fact: He doesn’t like getting his picture taken.