Last Friday evening the Hales Late-Nighter was well attended, complete with a performance by soul/funk band of which I am a member, “The Sauce.”

Amidst karaoke, pool, bowling and free food from the Feve, this was a chance to return to playing the music with which I grew up, the music that is oftentimes subject to ridicule in the South Professor St. area.

The Sauce is a group that was spearheaded by sophomore Jamey Arent, a jazz guitar major who shares my musical background; we crave soul music in addition to the academics of jazz. Performing Friday at the Cat in the Cream was a treat for the entire band; we got to share what we know and love with the dancing audience and to contribute our style to Oberlin’s already flush popular music scene.

As a Conservatory jazz major I sometimes feel the need to cut loose and “travel to the wild side;” i.e. listen to and play rock, blues, funk, hip-hop or any other music tradition that remains to be moved into the classroom. The Oberlin Conservatory is a high quality institution, a serious place to dig into serious music, but for my own mental health I need to play music that dates back to 1970s America.

Members of the Sauce are torn between two worlds. Consider a car analogy. It’s great to earn serious dough to eventually buy the BMW or Mercedes, but it can be great fun to grab a beat-up piece of junk and just go for a road trip. You’ll have to make the best of it and learn how to be thrifty, but stealing a taste of good times for laughs is sometimes all you need to keep your head level.

Some of the fondest memories from my high school years in Massachusetts are of playing in bars with my father and his friends, learning music not unlike what the Sauce is trying to put together. I remember playing rhythm and blues all night in newly smoke-free bars, losing my hearing and taking crap about my age. Those times stuck with me and now, I have a great time revisiting similar material, only this time with people who are my own age and not my parents’.

Hitting my drums up on the stage of the Cat in the Cream and making people want to shake their money-makers was gratifying as a performer. It was a chance for me to show a crowd a good time and to give what I can to the people who appreciate music.

To my knowledge, not many other schools have as many wonderful opportunities to hear and play such various musical styles, never mind receive such support from audiences. I can’t stress enough my respect for Oberlin as a musical audience; I appreciate its broad tastes and open ears. To think that we have such a thing here given our size (and location) is fabulous.