From Hogwarts to Harvard

Don’t let the glasses fool you. Beyond Harry Potter’s unassuming exterior lies the heart of a rock star.

At least that was the concept two and a half years ago, when brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge formed their wizard–inspired rock band Harry and the Potters, which has recently garnered a Harvard following.

“We thought it was a great idea because people are just crazy for Harry Potter,” says Paul DeGeorge.

And indeed they are. When the Harvard First-year Outdoor Program (FOP) staff members discovered the band online, they spent the summer rocking out to their tunes during work.

“Everyone reads Harry Potter, so everyone can relate to the music,” says Kathleen E. McKee ’06, who worked on FOP administration this summer. “They bring Harry Potter to life.”

Quirky lyrics such as, “Oh the bus don’t go to Hogwarts, you gots to take the train,” inspired a Facebook group “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock,” and prompted the FOP leaders to contact the twosome for a private performance in a Mather suite last month that literally left the windows steamy.

“It was awesome,” says McKee. “It was a small crowd but the room was totally packed and they just jammed for an hour.”

This wasn’t the first time the band’s literary connection paid off. Their first gig took place at an unlikely venue: the Boston Public Library.

Two and a half years later, the band has played at bookstores, libraries, rock clubs, and recently, Oktoberfest, which got even more Harvard students buzzing. Some fashionable Crimsonites have even begun sporting “Save Ginny” and “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock” t-shirts.

With plenty of publicity and a tour that has just gotten underway, DeGeorge says that only one goal remains. “I’m looking forward to the day when Rowling goes to a show.”

Maybe she’ll even buy one of the t-shirts.