Filling in The Blanks

After listening to a few sets from Harvard’s newest rock group, The Blanks, you might just find yourself shooting blanks. Or at least the band hopes you will.

“At our shows, we want to rock everyone in the crowd sterile,” says The Blanks’ drummer, John T. Drake ’06. “Yeah,” says Jon H. Carter ’06, who holds down lead guitar duties in the band. “That way, we don’t get anybody pregnant after our shows.”

An all-first-year ensemble formed during the First-year Arts Program (FAP) earlier this year, The Blanks have quickly become one of the most visible acts in the Harvard music scene. The Blanks’ energy and intensity on-stage—part of their commitment to population control—has wowed recent crowds at the Advocate and Quincy Collective and has earned the group a loyal following in the Class of 2006. Consisting of Matt C. Boch ’06 (lead vocals, guitar), Carter (lead guitar, vocals), Drake (drums, vocals) and Long Le-Khac ’06 (bass), The Blanks play a unique brand of rock peppered with generous doses of punk, indie and blues. The band draws on its members’ diverse musical backgrounds: Drake is a professional jazz drummer, Carter is a long-time blues player and Boch is a champion of obscure, artsy indie-rock (he lists his favorite band as “Q and Not U”).

While most first-years were relaxing at home or partying it up somewhere on some distant sun-soaked shore during intersession, The Blanks spent their break holed up in Boch’s grandfather’s home in Vermont. Being sequestered in the middle of nowhere allowed the group to spend 16-hour days honing their musical skills. “There was literally nothing to do up there but play music,” says Carter. “I mean, there was a mule and a cow somewhere nearby. And a cat, I think. But other than that, it was just us.” The result of the group’s self-isolation is a 10-song self-produced demo, mixed by Boch on his own computer. The demo (available for download on www.loveromp.com) is an intriguing amalgam of styles—what Boch calls “a document of where we are right now.”

The demo is also, surprisingly, of extraordinary quality for something recorded in a living room and “remastered” in a dorm. The songs themselves veer wildly from style to style and, all in all, are a fun and eclectic listen. Tunes like “Black Body Radiator of Death” and “Disorderly Conduct” evoke images of a more technically proficient Glassjaw or Rocket From the Crypt, while “Junkie Blooze” is a tongue-in-cheek blues that features a searing guitar solo by Carter—not unlike The Jeff Beck Group’s famed guitar jam, “Rice Pudding.” The band really shines, however, on “Stars As Clocks” and “Table For Two,” two songs that exhibit more of an all-encompassing band. The angular guitars of “Stars As Clocks” are reminiscent of Sonic Youth, while the moog synth line that haunts “Table For Two” is equally striking.

The Blanks’ popularity, especially among the first-years, has exploded in recent months. For some, it’s The Blanks’ impressive musicianship that accounts for their appeal. “Each band member brings their own musical influences to the table,” says Gigi M. Garmengia ’06, “but they manage to meld these elements into a complex and powerful force. It’s just good music.” Kasia P. Cieplak von Baldegg ’06, however, takes a simpler point of view: “They’re stylish. You can quote me on that.” And, FM has.

But, to what do The Blanks themselves attribute their recent popularity? Band members agree that there is a simple recipe to their success—“creative interpersonal dynamics.” Alright, perhaps The Blanks recipe for success isn’t so simple. But they are a Harvard band, what do you expect?