Bandier senior cultivates intimate performance with local house show experience
Isabella Flores | Staff Photographer
SU senior Skylar Romero put on an house show for her Bandier capstone project. She intended for the show to be more relaxed compared to others on campus and asked her friends to make merchandise to sell at the event.
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As the majority of campus slept in, Skylar Romero rushed around Syracuse to get last minute decorations, lighting equipment and brand merchandise. With sound check, cleaning and setup, she spent the whole day preparing for her first house show at Oz, a local student-run music venue.
“I felt like I drove all over Syracuse that day and I was super nervous the entire afternoon because I’d been working on this project all semester,” Romero said. “I still had no clue what the turnout would be like.”
As part of her capstone project, Romero, a senior in the Bandier program, created Stupid Early, a music community and social media platform that spotlights emerging artists and songwriters. Stupid Early’s Instagram account is a space where people can discover new artists and learn who is behind the music. Romero also organized a stripped-down house show that featured acoustic performances from four fellow Bandier students: Eric Eric, Padma, Sammy Curcuru and Picture Us Tiny.
One of Romero’s main goals for Stupid Early was to set it apart from other house shows on campus. She wanted people to move comfortably and freely rather than stand in a packed crowd, hear the music clearly and, most importantly, listen without side conversations or loud distractions that she experienced at larger house shows.
“I selfishly wanted to throw a show that I wanted to see and curate a vibe that I wanted to experience,” Romero said. “I wanted an elevated acoustic performance, which basically means everything but drums.”
Romero created a submission form where interested artists could submit a few demos, a link to their Spotify account and any visual components. Eric Ticse, aka Eric Eric, a sophomore in the Bandier program, immediately jumped at the opportunity to submit music for the showcase.
Since freshman year, Ticse has looked up to Romero and often went to her for comfort and guidance in the Bandier program. When Ticse heard he’d been selected to perform, the nerves suddenly hit. He’d recently been DJing fraternity events with large crowds and forgot how nerve-wracking singing for a smaller audience can be.
Ticse was the first to perform at the show and slowly adjusted to the intimate setting and hushed crowd. He felt stable with Romero’s presence and the fact everyone was just listening.
“I’ve seen a bunch of house shows here that are super energetic, but I appreciated the energy Sky cultivated for this,” said Ticse. “It allowed the artists some freedom in how we wanted to express our emotions and interact with the crowd.”
After Ticse performed, Romero was still nervous and wondering if people were having a good time. Her friends calmed her down by telling her to look at the captivated and smiling faces in the audience, most of whom were wearing Stupid Early merch.
After Eric Eric performed, Padma, a freshman in the Bandier program, went on. She was planning on just singing and playing guitar but realized there was a chance her friend Vijay Tandon, a freshman chemistry major, could play. Last minute, she decided to perform with her lead guitarist Anjali Engstrom, a freshman in Bandier, to bring more life to her set.
“It was very different from any house show I’d ever played. I noticed how quiet the audience was, which was really nice because I’m used to people talking or moving around,” said Padma.
She performed five original songs: “Gross,” “Bro,” “Supersonic,” Move Your Mouth” and “Beltway,” and couldn’t stop grinning when she heard some of her friends in the audience quietly sing along to respect the intimate atmosphere. Padma compared the show to an open mic night with very talented performers, rather than a rowdy off-campus house show.
After months of work, Skylar Romero put on a show featuring her four friends (left to right) Padma, Picture Us Tiny, Eric Eric and Sammy Curcuru. All of the performers are currently in the Bandier program at Newhouse. Courtesy of Lillian Bencich
Audience members like Rachel Cramer, a senior magazine, news and digital journalism major, said they loved the show. Cramer wished she showed up earlier to buy some Stupid Early merch, which sold out midway through the night.
Sydney Panzer, a senior in Bandier, helped create the logo and design aesthetic for the merch and Instagram account. With prior design experience, Panzer quickly understood Romero’s vision from the mood boards and materials she showed for reference. From there, Panzer created the logo that would be used on all the posters, Instagram graphics, hoodies, sweatshirts and long sleeves.
To print the logo onto the clothing, Romero called Grace Beckwith, a senior art photography major in VPA, who has access to the ITS MakerSpace in the basement of Kimmel Hall. They figured out how to print the logos with puff print vinyl on all the clothing pieces and dropped them off at Oz on the day of the show.
“I ran the merch table on Saturday, and Sky and Grace did a great job printing everything,” said Panzer. “The merch sold super quickly because of how good the pieces were. It was awesome to see people walking around wearing it.”
Along with the merch, the respect everyone had for the music was the highlight of the show for both the audience and the performers. Cramer loved how chill and welcoming the show was compared to house shows she’s been to, because she said not everyone goes to those shows solely for the music.
“I could tell it was strictly music lovers and appreciators because everyone focused on the artists. It felt more like a professional show or concert than any other house situation I’ve been to,” Cramer said.
A week after the show, Romero is still getting requests for more merch and to put together another Stupid Early showcase. With only two weeks left until graduation, Romero said she doesn’t think it would make sense to scramble for an encore of something that took her the entire semester to organize. But she plans to continue running the Stupid Early Instagram account for followers to discover new music, and would love to host a similar event in the future.
“Ideally, Stupid Early could be something I do on the side from my full-time job,” said Romero. “All I wanted was for people to have a good time and highlight how talented my friends are. The show completely exceeded my expectations and I feel really happy with it.”
Published on April 25, 2023 at 9:35 pm
