Portrait of an Artist: The Lighthouse Keepers

The first few weeks of school are always buzzing on campus, and Harvard’s indie folk-inspired quintet the Lighthouse Keepers has contributed to the excitement this fall. Consisting of Abby L. Westover ’17, Ella M. Duncan ’17, Colby S. Knight ’17, Aidan R. Chavez ’18, and Matt Matsudaira ’17, the band published a single, “In a Moment,” on Sept. 3. The group now has an EP album coming out at the end of this school year and has performed at multiple venues on campus, including Yardfest last spring, but they trace their roots back to the humble basement of Matthews Hall, where three of the members met during their first year on campus.

The Harvard Crimson: How did you guys first come together to form the band?

Colby S. Knight: So it was just the three of us—me, Ella, and Abby—in the beginning. Our first gig was Arts First our freshman spring, which was just kind of an outlet for us to create a name for ourselves, because Abby literally needed to fill out a name for us to sign up, and thus we were born. I invested in a cajón which is this drum-box-thing that you play on, but because I play guitar in the band, I just sat on it and kicked it with my foot while playing guitar.

Abby L. Westover: And [he was] singing. Which was super impressive. Super impressive.

CSK: But it became clear pretty quickly that was unsustainable…. I knew Aidan through the Oak Club and knew that he was a drummer. I asked if he wanted to come play music with us one day, and he just fit right away and it totally worked. We asked another friend of ours, Matt Matsudaira, to play bass for us. And then finally, we had a full band sound, and that’s where we are now.

Ella M. Duncan: And just one more thing about the name. The first song I remember playing with Abby and really feeling connected was called “The Lighthouse Tale” by Nickel Creek and [I remember] thinking, “Wow, this is really something we could continue.”

THC: You also have a Christmas album. Why a Christmas album?

ALW: So the Christmas album we recorded on our iPhones, in the span of one evening our sophomore fall, in Colby’s living room. It was the day before I was leaving for home for Christmas, but we just wanted to have a little gift to give our families.

Aidan R. Chavez: That was the second gig I had with the Lighthouse Keepers, and I was like this is weird playing Christmas music, but it was one of the most fun times I’ve ever had. Everyone loves Christmas music, and it was such good energy.

THC: What are some of the greatest challenges and advantages of being in college and your own band at the same time at Harvard?

ALW: Being in some sort of band was something I thought about in high school that would be really cool to do in college but didn’t think was actually going to happen. But once we started to really play on campus last year, people would come to our gigs to see us and learn about us, then they would ask us to play at other events and venues on campus. As opposed to being in the real world, where you have to take a lot more initiative to go find new things, your gigs are really facilitated nicely in a college environment.

EMD: And I think [that with] the culture here being so busy, sometimes it’s hard to go against the grain of doing something purely because it’s fun and it’s not necessarily because it’s toward a direction of a career or a post-grad. It’s just basically because we love it and we like to share it with others. And that’s a really simple concept but to actually internalize it and feel good in the moment doing it is probably more difficult than I would like, but I think a lot of people resonate with that pressure.

ARC: Also, I played a ton of drums in high school, and it was a big part of my life. And freshman year, it fell off the radar at Harvard. Even if music is really important to you, a lot of times you get really busy at Harvard, and it’s hard to put aside your studies and whatever extracurriculars you’re doing, and your whole life essentially, just to go play music. I definitely struggled with that. But it’s super worth it. If you feel like you’re losing touch with something you like to do—especially if it’s music—try to find some friends and make sure it happens…. It’s really important. Also, Colby looks just like Drake Bell.