Spring semester started off with a bang with the first “Feel the BEAT” mini concert series to get students pumped for the new semester.
This is the first year that the concert series has been named Feel the BEAT instead of U-Rock. The concert took place in University Park Jan. 24 from noon to 1 p.m.
The concert series featured a band called The Modern Mad from Covina.
As the band started off with its first song, the crowd immediately began cheering and singing along to the words.
As The Modern Mad’s sound grew louder, more people were drawn to the performance.
“We want to fill whatever area we are in with as much of our sound as we possibly can instead of leveling off the sound which is definitely harder,” said Christian Sullivan, the band’s lead singer.
Band members were not afraid to head bang and jump across the stage when it came to jamming out to their music.
They put a lot of effort into performing, as much as they do with their songwriting.
Sullivan, lead singer, and Michael Ruiz, the band’s bass player, rocked out as hard as their audience whenever the beat dropped or when a major guitar solo was coming up.
“You get a receptive energy when you see the crowd rocking out to your music,” said Nick Joun, the band’s guitar player.
The band is mostly rock-inspired but it has other inspirations in its music that are not just related to rock.
The Modern Mad is inspired by genres such as jazz and the blues.
“Our music is like a melting pot because we each bring something different to the table and make it our own,” Ruiz said. “But some of our biggest inspirations would be Led Zeppelin, James Brown and the Isley Brothers.”
Joun added, “Christian’s voice fits so well with what we are trying to do. It’s really timeless because I think it is a nice middle ground to everything so we can basically write anything we want.”
Joun also stated that he would not compare Sullivan’s voice to a grunge sound, rather more of a mix between rock and some of their inspirations.
Even though The Modern Mad played at the mini concert series last year, the group came back this year with a song dedicated to the people who were affected by the California wildfires back in November.
“This song is so musically and emotionally charged,” Joun said.
“It is kind of sentimental sounding especially since right now is probably one of the weirdest times.”
They also felt that they needed to write a song dedicated to the victims since it hit most of their fan base close to home.
The Feel the BEAT mini concert series gives students a chance to be able to learn about new bands and it also gives those new bands and artists more exposure in hopes to grow their fan base.
The next Feel the BEAT mini concert series will take place on March 28, in University Park.
