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Photography by Teneil Moore
Seismic bandmates (from left to right): Perry Ostrin, drums;
Jason Rappaport, bass and vocals; James Lake, guitar and vocals;
and Paul Barone, keyboards and vocals |
After Hours - The Rock Star
You’ve heard the phrase, “Keep your day job.”
Well, in this latest installment of “After Hours” —
a new series about faculty and staff who balance their work lives
with fascinating, all-consuming hobbies or side jobs — you’ll
meet a UCLA staffer who should keep both his day and his night jobs:
Paul Barone, who has been touring California with his rock band,
Seismic.
NAME: Paul Barone
TITLE: Technology training manager, External Affairs
SECOND CAREER: Musician
WHEN STARTED: “My mother has a photograph
of me, probably at 1 year old, reaching up to this antique, upright
piano that we had in our living room and just plunking one little
key at the very end. I suppose that was the point where it all started.”
INSTRUMENTS: A Kurzweil digital piano, a Fender
Rhodes piano and a Hohner Clavinet. The latter two are vintage,
electromechanical keyboards created in the 1970s.
BIRTH OF THE BAND: “We met through the wonder
of the Internet, a Web site called craigslist. It’s a way
to find whatever you may be looking for. There is a musicians’
section, so I started scanning it and came across a ‘keyboardist
wanted’ ad. It connected me with Jason and a band he was in
called Rodeo Cold. For a few months we were Rodeo Cold, and then
our guitarist decided he wanted to pursue something else and left.
That’s when James came into the picture. A little bit after
that, in early 2004, we had to replace our drummer. I posted an
ad on a message board on the Internet, and sure enough, Perry found
it. We had all the pieces together at that point, and when we sat
down and played the first couple of times, we knew it had merit.”
THE SOUND: “Improvisational rock. You’ll
also hear the term ‘jam band.’ A song may have plenty
of structure, verses and choruses, but often there are going to
be passages where the musicians in the band are literally creating
music at that point in time. It can go horribly awry if we’re
not on the same page. But when it clicks, it’s terribly exciting.”
MUSICAL INFLUENCES: The Grateful Dead, Phish, Little
Feat, The Band.
FAVORITE TOWN TO PLAY IN: “I would have to
say my two favorite places are Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes. Being
from back East, I’m particularly impressed by the grandeur
of the mountains. It’s a treat to be able to go up there,
just to be there.”
AGE RANGE OF FANS: “I’d say 20s to
30s. That said, we also have a handful of people who are in their
40s and 50s who are regular attendees. They seek us out anywhere
we play in the L.A. basin. They love the music. They identify themselves
as Old Deadheads.”
DISCOGRAPHY: “Seismogenic,” released
in December 2004.
LEVEL OF GIRLFRIEND INDULGENCE: “Jessica’s
very, very supportive. She comes out to an awful lot of shows, and
she’ll walk around trying to get people’s names on our
e-mail list. She helps us sell CDs at our shows.”
GROUPIES: “I would be the first to tell you
that I don’t see us as a really sexy band. Three out of four
of us are in long-term relationships. We just let Jason, our bassist,
take care of any groupies. He’s the single guy.”
SIMILARITIES TO DAY JOB: “There are some
interesting parallels between being a technology training manager
at UCLA and a keyboardist and vocalist for Seismic. I’m always
on a keyboard of some sort, whether it contains letters and numbers
or 88 black-and-white keys. And while playing in a band would normally
be seen as pure entertainment, in the classroom there is also an
element of entertainment. I really want my students (my colleagues,
really) to feel comfortable and to enjoy the learning process. The
classroom is as much a stage to me as the real thing in a club,
and I take the same pride in a class taught well as I do in a show
played well.”
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