Students for Alternative Music

by Christian Smith
October 28, 2014
Screaming, banging, and heavy guitar riffs could be heard coming from a church in downtown Amherst
last Tuesday night as students entered the chapel, only to be met by a clown wearing a blonde mullet
wig asking for donations. The Students for Alternative Music at the University of Massachusetts Amherst
kicked off the Halloween week last Tuesday night with a festive costume show featuring local punk and
emo bands shakusky, Settler, and California X, as well as touring bands Slingshot Dakota and Diarrhea
Planet at the Unitarian Meetinghouse in Amherst.
The Students for Alternative Music, or SALT, was formed in the spring semester of 2013 by members of
a band called shakusky in an attempt by students to bring a variety of different bands to play safe shows
on campus. The Halloween show this Tuesday was the third show presented by SALT this
semester and is to be followed by two more in November and potentially some in
December.
On Sunday evening, about 10 group members attended a Jack-o-lantern carving party at
Kira Mathesons apartment to make decorations for the show. Matheson is a senior
English major at UMass Amherst with purple hair, sings for shakusky, and is an officer in
SALT. Beyond decorating, members are able to get involved by posting fliers around
campus or in the surrounding areas to promote shows, working the door at shows to
collect donations, and the set up and breakdown of the PA system, including mics, amps,
and mixers. If interested, students can also book shows for SALT and choose what
bands play and where the show will be. They also need graphic designers to design
fliers for shows.

SALT members tabling last semester

Organized by Matheson last semester, members of SALT recently published a zine featuring poetry and
art submitted by members. It also includes commentary about some of the bands that are playing or
have played. The first zine was limited to only member submissions, but future zine productions will
include works from anyone that submits their work to the SALT zine group. The zines are sold for two
dollars at shows, along with posters, earplugs, and stickers.
SALT uses a number of on campus locations as well as nearby off-campus
locations. The Agricultural Engineering Building and the Cape Cod Lounge are
two of the most popular on-campus venues. The dark emptied classroom of
the AG-ENG building, lit up only by string lights sets the perfect atmosphere
for the DIY shows that SALT hosts.
SALTs first show included Brave Bird, shakusky, 10,000 Blades, and Feels and
10,000 Blades playing in the Agricultural
Engineering building

each band was very different. Feels started the show with fast and groovy
psychedelic songs for people to dance to. 10,000 blades played next, bringing
in some hard rock and roll from New Hampshire. Shakusky then played a fast
paced set while someone used the PowerPoint in the Agricultural Engineering

classroom to write EVERYONE SHOULD MOSH The crowd erupted and began pushing each other back
and forth in a chaotically fun way. Brave Bird closed the show with a more upbeat set, making use of the
vocalists talent for singing and screaming.

Other on campus venues include performances at student businesses like Earth Foods and Greenough
Sub Shop. Last semester, SALT hosted an impromptu poetry night at
Greenough featuring local and traveling poets. Members expressed
interest in hosting something similar in the future.
The most common off-campus venue is the Unitarian Meetinghouse
Church in the center of downtown Amherst. SALT has hosted two
shows in the Unitarian church this semester. The first show on Sept. 5
had more than 150 people attending to kick start the semester.

A SALTY HALLOWEEN
A crowd of more than 170 people was quite the lively bunch last Tuesday
photo by Kira Matheson
night, singing and dancing along to the music. Only a small minority wore
Halloween costumes to the event, including guys dressed in drag, scary
masks, and ridiculous wigs. Justin Seamens, a non-UMass student, said I wish more people wore
costumes, it was supposed to be a costume show, However, the lack of costumes was made up for in
singing, dancing, light moshing, and crowd surfing.

Quentin Harrington, a sophomore at UMass from Boylston, said I love how everyone was into the
atmosphere and was having fun, Harrington sings and plays guitar. He was in a band
throughout high school called Our Names Forever, playing at venues like the Raven
and the Lilly Pad, both located in Worcester.
Toward the end of the show, one of the mics on the PA system malfunctioned,
preventing Diarrhea Planet from singing. The vocals could have been a little louder
while they were working, Harrington said. Despite the PA malfunction, the show
went on instrumentally and the crowd continued moving along to the
rock band.

A SALTY HALLOWEEN
photo by Kira Matheson

As SALT shows begin to draw larger crowds, Liam Cregan, the President
and founder of SALT, has applied for a grant to allocate more money in
order to book touring bands. Cregan should be notified on the status of
the grant application late next week after giving a presentation next Monday. As of right now, SALT uses
the money they earn through charging admission to pay the touring bands for gas and other expenses.
More money from the university would allow SALT to book a larger amount of popular bands as well as
bands that are more popular than the ones currently being booked.
The music genres of the bands that are booked by SALT are varied and each show doesnt particularly
pertain to one genre. Sounds range from jazz and funk to emo, folk, indie, punk, and metal. Each show is
typically stacked to appeal to a wide audience so everyone can enjoy certain aspects of a performance.
Many of the bands use standard instruments such as guitar, drums, bass guitar, vocals, and sometimes

keyboards. SALT typically doesnt cater to electronically produced music because it is often done so by
the university or surrounding clubs.
Maddie Payson, a junior psychology major at UMass and member of SALT, said I really enjoyed the
diversity in each bands sound. They were all very unique yet there was a cohesive flow between each
set which made it an awesome experience, Payson is a new member in SALT and watched the bands
perform at the Halloween show from the ticket table as she Xd peoples
hands to get in. Though Payson is a psychology major, she is quite
interested in getting involved in the music industry and thinks SALT is the
perfect way for her to get firsthand experience.
One of SALTs main goals is to provide an avenue for local artists to spread
their music, while trying bring popular touring bands as well. With that in
mind, shows are booked about 50/50 local bands/touring bands. Many of
the local bands that play for SALT play more than once, allowing for a fan
base to grow on campus and making shows get more and more
interactive and enjoyable as they go on. Local bands that play
frequently with SALT include Feels, Sexy Girls, Watts Closet, shakusky,
and Who Da Funk It?

A SALTY HALLOWEEN
photo by Kira Matheson

Most of the touring bands booked by SALT are up-and-coming and are usually signed to a record label.
Some of the biggest bands SALT has booked include Brave Bird, an emo/indie band from Michigan,
Slingshot Dakota, a married keyboard and drum duo from Pennsylvania on Topshelf Records, and
Aviator, an emotional hardcore band that blends screaming and singing with melodic guitar riffs and fast
drumming, from Massachusetts on No Sleep Records, among others.
SALT is hosting two upcoming shows in November. On Nov. 11, Sexy Girls, Blessed State, Left & Right,
Derive, and Creature Comforts will be playing at the Cape Cod Lounge. On Nov 21, Crash the Owl Party,
Jake McKelvie &the Countertops, Vitamin Sun, and Tuna & the Wongs will be playing in the Agricultural
Engineering Building. SALT members urge anyone that is interested to follow them on Facebook and
come to meetings to help out.

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