From simple jam sessions to full-on concerts, Bloomington Delta Music Club is building a community of music lovers. As one of the biggest campus music clubs not affiliated with the Jacobs School of Music, BDMC works to create a safe space for people to share their passion for music and collaborate with musicians of all skill levels.
While the club hasn’t been around for very long, they have already made their mark in the local music scene. Bands like Opal and the newer band Garden Cinema are just some examples of the many club members who have been inspired through BDMC.
“I mean, the main goal of what we do as a club and I think what the club started as was just getting people together who like music because the majority of us don’t study music, we just love it,” BDMC co-president Riley Spitznagel said.
While the focus of the club is to give students across any field of study a chance to perform and share their love for music, not every event is a big performance. BDMC hosts socials to give its members a chance to get to know one another through events like CD listening parties and non-music socials.
There’s also room for non-musicians — photographers and videographers create photos and videos for their website and Instagram, graphic designers create posters for their Instagram and flyers for events.
BDMC often hosts jam sessions, led by the club’s music directors, to provide opportunities for members of all skill levels to play together and try out new genres.
“Most of the jams are centered around one genre, so you tend to have a lot of people that are interested in a specific genre show up,” Spitznagel said. “Then they start playing together and realize, ‘actually, I think we could make a band out of this’ and that’s kind of how it goes.”
The club doesn’t offer music lessons, but jam sessions are a good opportunity for people with little experience to learn. Often during jams, more experienced players will play something and newer players ask them questions about what they played and how they did it.
Along with these jams, club members have other opportunities to play with each other. BDMC plans several showcases each year, including a Halloween showcase Oct. 18. The showcase features their alt/indie/pop and metal/punk/emo genres playing Halloween-themed music. Oftentimes musicians and attendees will dress up in their costumes for the show.
There are two large events hosted every year. In the spring, BDMC organizes Presents, a six-hour outdoor music festival; last year's was held at Waldron Hill Buskirk Park. The day is full of performances and usually includes food trucks. Additionally, later this fall will mark the club’s second Battle of the Bands, a new addition to the yearly event lineup.
Battle of the Bands participants without a band are grouped together. For some teams, those random groupings turn into a more permanent band.
One of these groups, Always Late, has performed together since its win at last year’s battle. The band plays classic rock covers and has done a few gigs so far. It’s hoping to get more consistent.
“I think we just had really good chemistry, we all got along really well, and it was just really fun hanging out with each other,” said Sophia Stephens, one of two lead singers for Always Late. “Most of the members already wanted to be in a band, so we were just like ‘why wouldn’t we make a band?’”
Although the members have changed a bit since last year's Battle of the Bands, Always Late is now an all-girl band with seven members who all participate in BDMC on some level. In the past it included male members as well, but as they became too busy or graduated, the remaining group members decided to lean into it and seek out other girls to join.
“I think the rock space, especially right now, it’s very male-dominated still. I mean, it always sort of has been, but especially right now, just like, in Indiana, I feel like a lot of girls you do see in bands are singers,” Stephens said. “I’m hoping we can put ourselves out there more and maybe inspire other people.”
Playing mostly classic rock covers, the all-girl band finds inspiration from other women-led rock musicians, namely Heart, Blondie and Pat Benatar. Though they have been playing covers from other bands like Kansas and Kiss, the group's ultimate goal is to create and perform more original music.
With the group’s busy schedules, Always Late likes to meet at least twice a week to practice covers. Through this, the members have become a very tight-knit group.
“We met through this club and we were able to play together through club events and I think if the club didn’t sponsor those events, or we never signed up for them, we would have never met and it would have been very difficult to find like-minded people,” Lily Macey, lead singer, said. “All of them are my best friends and we hang out all the time, which is a lot of fun.”
Another BDMC band that teamed up for Battle of the Bands and decided to continue, The Free Riders, plays a mix of country, southern rock and classic rock covers. The band has played a few gigs this semester, including one at Bring Your Own Business on Dunn Meadow, a house show Oct. 3 and they even opened for Opal at the Bluebird on Oct. 10.
The band practices weekly and hopes to play more house shows with an ultimate goal of regularly playing live at a bar.
“Honestly, it’s one of the most fun aspects of being a college student for me,” said Oliver Trueblood, a guitarist for The Free Riders. “When I’ve got busier weeks with schoolwork where I’m kind of stressed, it's like ‘ok, if I can get through this stuff, there’s a rehearsal on Wednesday or there’s a gig on Friday’ and that just helps me, like, stay motivated I guess.”
