Soul and R&B ensemble The Paul Elisha Band looks to put on a thriller of a performance as it pays homage to the “King of Pop” tonight.
“The covers were almost impossible to pull off,” said Paul Hypolite, the band’s singer and an Ohio University graduate student studying political science. “There’s just so much going on with his music.”
Hypolite added that he appreciates Michael Jackson’s music for its influence on newer artists and uses it for developing his own sounds.
“He’s a direct and indirect influence,” Hypolite said. “I listened to his stuff growing up and tried to borrow the things he would do on stage and in his songs into my own music.”
Since forming over the summer, The Paul Elisha Band has started carving its niche in the Athens music scene, appearing earlier this year at Groove St. Fest. In addition to Hypolite, the band draws members from several established Athens groups, including the First Street Heat and Elemental Groove Theory.
Though new to the Athens music scene, this has not been Hypolite’s first attempt to bring his music to the stage.
“I had a band my freshman year and the beginning of my sophomore year of college,” Hypolite said. “But it was just hard for people to play my kind of music well.”
Discouraged that he could not find an audience for his sound, Hypolite transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. He ultimately ran into financial woes, though, and returned to OU.
Upon his return to Athens, Hypolite said he had given up playing his own music all together and decided to put his main focus on graduating.
“Jack Gould from the First Street Heat told me he had a band that played soul music and wanted me to be the lead singer,” Hypolite said. “I kept brushing it off, and he had kept asking since last winter quarter.”
When Hypolite decided to stay at OU for a graduate program, he finally considered taking Gould up on his offer.
“I finally showed up to a jam session they were having,” Hypolite said. “It went so well, and they were so amazing that Jack booked us a gig that night opening for Mojoflo the following Saturday.”
After finding the level of musicianship he had been searching for, Hypolite finally formed his band and in no time, the group was putting on 45-minute concerts with as little as one rehearsal.
“A lot of pop songs have so many instruments and background percussion,” Hypolite said. “To do it live takes a lot more work than I believe people think it does.”
Along with nearly a dozen covers from Michael Jackson’s repertoire, tonight’s show will feature dancers on stage as well as some covers the band has played in the past. The performance will also showcase students from other musical organizations on campus, such as Section 8, Title IX and the Jazz Ensemble.
ap338210@ohiou.edu
