Below, five student musicians discuss their career aspirations and juggling school with band responsibilities.
Aaron Kisling / To Speak of Wolves
When mathematics junior Aaron Kisling got his first guitar on his 12th birthday, he pictured himself playing it on stage. Within a year he joined his first band and by the age of 17 he was performing regularly.
Kisling has performed with a handful of groups, eventually finding sizeable success after joining metal collective To Speak of Wolves in 2008. The band released two albums and toured nationally for upwards of four years before going on a hiatus in 2012 — a hiatus that ended earlier this year.
“Just recently, there was a big social media push to get To Speak of Wolves back together, so we capitalized on it,” Kisling said. “I missed the first week of classes to go record our new EP.”
To Speak of Wolves’ EP “New Bones” was released in September, just before the group departed on a tour that caused Aaron to miss an additional two weeks of classes.
Although his semester is off to a busy start, Kisling knows where his priorities lie.
“School always comes first for me because the schedule is so difficult. School doesn’t care if I’m in a band or not,” the guitarist said. “But the priorities can go the other way as well. If I fail a class because of my tour schedule, I can take the class again next semester, but I can’t do the tour next semester.”
Daniel Anton / Sorry Ghost
Lead vocalist of punk rock group Sorry Ghost international studies junior Daniel Anton is careful not to let his music life affect his grades.
“I probably do music about twenty hours per week. School, honestly, is probably ten hours per week,” Anton said. “I do definitely give more of my time to music.”
While Anton considers his studies to be valuable, a career in music has always been his dominant aspiration. After graduating, Anton hopes to take a few years to give music his undivided attention.
“I’m not so delusional to think that if music doesn’t work out at first, I’m just going to keep trying and trying,” he said. “Generally, if you haven’t made some sort of wave in the music industry by your mid-20s or so, it’s a little late.”
Matthew Polito / Della
Indie-funk outfit Della has serenaded the Baton Rouge area with its groovy, rhythmic tunes for nearly four years. Psychology junior Matthew Polito juggles the responsibilities of being a lead guitarist and a student simultaneously, although he sees that as an advantage.
“College is a good time to make a lot of mistakes and figure out if music is actually something you would want to pursue,” Polito said. “It’s the last real chance you’ll get to give music a shot without the stress of reality… bearing down on you.”
Since his first live performance at an elementary school talent show, Polito has been involved with at least one band at a time. Currently, he’s serving as lead guitarist for both Della and Sorry Ghost. Despite his involvement in both bands, he has always viewed music as a side project.
“At the moment, I don’t see myself actively pursuing a career in music unless it makes itself available to me,” Polito said. “In the future, I’ll probably continue to put effort into it to have a product that I’m proud of, but not at the loss of other aspects of my life, like school and work.”
Della is currently working with LSU School of Music recording engineer Bill Kelley to record its debut EP.
Nelson Williams / Brother’s Bear
Pursuing degrees in both music and classical civilization, practicing your instrument and writing new music may seem like a lot to handle, but senior LSU student Nelson Williams doesn’t seem to mind. In January of 2016, Williams signed on as an upright bass player for local folk outfit Brother’s Bear despite already managing a busy schedule.
“I’m never too busy to make music with people,” Williams said.
Williams discovered his passion for music at a young age after learning the French horn in elementary school, but it wasn’t until his junior year of high school that he picked up the upright bass, the instrument he now plays primarily. Channeling bass players such as Edgar Meyer and Paul Kowert, Williams added to Brother’s Bear’s eclectic blend of folk, bluegrass and Americana.
In the future, he believes that aspects of both of his degrees will have greatly influenced him no matter what career path he chooses to follow.
Peter Santos / Olde Spanish
BRCC recording and audio sophomore Peter Santos is almost always toiling over his music, either working on new beats, fine-tuning his lyrics or performing at various venues throughout Baton Rouge. Recording under the moniker “Olde Spanish,” Santos draws inspiration from artists like The Notorious B.I.G. and Vampire Weekend to achieve distinct, genre-blending hip-hop tracks.
The end result doesn’t come without a fair share of work, however, as Santos spends upwards of 50 hours per week fine-tuning his sound, he said. At first, the balance between school and music was tough to handle. He was eventually able to overcome that obstacle, although he continues to give music the majority of his time.
“Last semester, I would spend all day studying. I wasn’t able to release too much music back then,” Santos said. “Right now, though, since music is going well, it can be hard to focus on school.”
His ideal job in the music industry would involve owning a venue that doubles as a studio in an effort to surround himself with music and creative minds at all hours of the day. While his family have been supportive of his decision to pursue a career in music, they were originally apprehensive.
“At first, I wanted to drop school altogether to focus on music, so my parents were upset about that,” he said. “It’s all good now, though. I share lyrics with my mom.”
Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in the fall 2016 issue of LEGACY Magazine with three musicians. This is the extended version.
