“Crowd pleasers all day long.” “Superfluous; cool.” “Half anti-Beatles, half not.”
These are a few ways student band Office Hours would describe themselves and their music. Formed last spring by Weinberg senior Jenna Kopp, the band has played block parties, football tailgates, backyard shows and has aspirations of playing Mayfest Productions’ Battle of the Bands, Kopp said.
Kopp, the band’s frontperson, manages the band and sings lead vocals. The six-piece group also includes McCormick senior Blake Frank on keys, Weinberg senior Peter Sheldon on drums, McCormick senior Liam Warlick on bass and Weinberg sophomores Max Garon and Jonah Snyder on guitar.
Kopp said she had always wanted to start a band, and has released solo music on streaming platforms, but she hadn’t found the right group until meeting Frank, Sheldon and Garon through mutual friends. Snyder and Warlick joined later to round out the strings section.
Studying international studies and economics at Northwestern, Garon said he was excited to have a musical outlet.
“I’ve been playing in bands since third grade,” he said. “It’s always been a big part of my life, and I’m glad I can continue doing that here at college.”
After abandoning their original name, Revelation Hill, which Frank called more fitting for the “screamo” genre, the band settled on Office Hours, inspired by a Yik Yak post that suggested the academic term could be a fitting band name.
“People come to us for help,” Snyder said. “When they need to get their angst out on a Saturday morning, we’re there.”
The group started out playing friends’ parties with upbeat covers of Jessie J’s “Domino” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” and are hoping to expand their repertoire, Kopp said. Their next performance will likely be another outdoor party during NU’s family weekend — Oct. 20 to Oct. 22 — she added.
Kopp, Garon, Frank and Warlick have written songs in the past, and the band hopes to collaborate on original music this year.
“At first, my strategy was trying to learn a bunch of songs that … people know. No one wants to listen to some obscure indie cover at a tailgate,” Kopp said. “But now, we’re definitely trying to widen the breadth of the songs we’re playing, and hopefully, originals are on the horizon.”
A few nights a week, the band gathers in the basement of Warlick’s house, playing, experimenting with arrangements and teasing Kopp and Sheldon for their hatred of The Beatles.
Even if they spend half a rehearsal joking around or talking about songs they like, Kopp said, she considers it time well spent.
“It’s nice when you like the people in your band because it never feels like we’re wasting time,” she said. “It’s a really good vibe.”
As the only underclassmen in the band, Snyder and Garon said they likely won’t continue Office Hours past this year, though Snyder said the two are “already scheming” about new projects for the future.
As for the seniors, none of them will pursue music professionally post-grad, but they said it will remain a part of all of their lives.
“I love being in a band,” Kopp said. “If that takes off, that’s amazing. But I’m gonna be a software engineer for the time being.”
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