While the start of college has always involved parting ways with old friends, it can be a whole different story for high-school band mates.
When band members scatter across the country for their higher education, it can bring the fate of any music group into question.
Mike Colosimo, a freshman studying communication studies at Ohio University, said he has nothing but fond memories of starting his band Somethin’ Tasty — in which he played drums — with his sister Katie and friends during high school in Pittsburgh.
“I invited my friend Mitch from down the street, who played bass, a couple times to jam,” Mike said. “Eventually we adopted my sister and her pianist into our two-man thing.”
The drummer said the band recorded an album in late July of last summer, right before he was to leave for OU. But that was the end of his stint in Somethin’ Tasty, which didn’t come as a surprise.
“From the start, I didn’t know if I would be included all the way through,” Mike said.
However, just because that was the end of Mike’s tenure as the drummer, Somethin’ Tasty was not dead. Katie Colosimo, Mike’s sister, lead vocalist for the group and a senior at Pine Richland High School, has continued the band with the bassist, who attends college in Pittsburgh.
“It’s a lot different because we kind of have to make a new band,” Katie said. “We had to take different musicians we knew and pull them in.”
Although the younger Colosimo sibling has been able to carry the torch her brother helped light, she too is nearing her time to leave home for college. She will be departing for Belmont University in Tennessee next fall, which will further set the makeup of the band in flux.
“I’m probably going to make a band in Nashville, but when we get back for summer we can all perform together,” Katie said. “Playing is a lot of fun and doesn’t matter who you do it with.”
Just as the end of high school can pose a threat to a band, the end of college can also be lethal.
Harold Bon, a sophomore studying audio music production, said his group, City of Wolves, has been together since late high school, but one member’s approaching college graduation will most likely be the end of their band.
The band focused on producing music during the summers as the three members’ school-year residencies span from Ohio to Georgia.
“We didn’t play many shows in high school; we started summer after my senior year,” Bon said. “We play during the summers since we’re all spread out during the school year. But this ... will probably be our last summer together.”
io312410@ohiou.edu
