Crissy Shannon: Bending over backwards for Pitt band
By Trent Leonard, Sports Editor
September 5, 2019
Pitt senior Crissy Shannon earned the role of drum major last spring, becoming the first woman to do so in the band’s 108-year history.
Panthers band together in split performances
By Tessa Sayers, Assistant Sports Editor
December 10, 2018
With Pitt's band split between three different locations on the weekend of Nov. 30, Director of Bands Brad Townsend had to get creative.
Zaki defies genre in debut of self-titled album
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
March 13, 2018
Jesse Descutner, a 2016 Pitt graduate, heard the environmental term “urban heat island” in an undergraduate urban studies class and immediately thought it would be a good name for his band. In that same class, Descutner, a guitarist, met bassist Sean O’Connor, a 2017 Pitt graduate. The two ...
Battle for the band: students trade pop for performance at Hofbrauhaus College Night
By Siddhi Shockey | Staff Writer
February 1, 2018
In the great beer hall at Hofbrauhaus every Thursday night, college students dance under the warm light of chandeliers to authentic live music — partaking in a beloved College Night tradition. But when Pitt senior accounting and business information systems major Derek Arnold walked into College ...
The Naughties focus on the fans
By Caroline Bourque and Prachi Patel | Pitt News Staff
January 19, 2018
The audience at a typical Naughties show can expect anything from bass player Jad Hilal’s usual joke segment to a patriotic onstage reading of the Constitution — backed by red, white and blue stage lights. Lead vocalist and guitar player Jesse Wehner, a Pitt senior and economics major, said th...
Soda Club creates their own genre
By Sarah Connor, Staff Writer
January 9, 2018
Jarrett Krause opened the doors to his classroom at Beth Shalom Early Learning Center in Squirrel Hill Friday morning. His prekindergarten students drew colorful, scribbly pictures and asked him about his long, curly hair. One day later, the 2015 Pitt alumnus was tossing that same curly hair onst...
Riding the party wave with Surf Bored
By Luke Stambaugh / Staff Writer
September 11, 2017
In an Oakland basement adorned with Christmas lights, a two-person “mosh-pop” outfit jams in front of a sweaty crowd of college students. The crowd moshes to the fast-paced, resounding tunes as the guitarist wipes beads of sweat from his forehead. Surf Bored, a prominent Do-It-Yourself band...
Column: Tired of house parties? Try house shows instead
By Christian Snyder, Columnist
May 30, 2017
There were too many people, the music was too loud, the cooler was empty and it smelled like sweat. I think that might describe every party I attended my first year of college. No matter where it was or who was there, I have no fond memories of piling into someone’s basement with what seemed lik...
Moving on: O’Hara says goodbye to Pitt
By Jack Mulligan / For The Pitt News
May 23, 2017
Pitt said goodbye to a musical fixture in South Oakland as O’Hara ended their set with a cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside” to a boisterous crowd the Friday before spring graduation. From their start in a basement on Parkview Ave. to their final show April 28 at Mr. Smalls Theatre, O...
Bend, but no snap: The logistics behind a successful Pitt Band show
By Shawn Cooke / A&E Editor
October 24, 2014
Right before every Pitt football game, a famous scene from “The Matrix” is duplicated — without any flying bullets or slow motion.Stephen Ruzzini, the Pitt band’s drum major, slowly lowers his back until it’s nearly parallel to the ground, and the feathers of his plumed hat touch the 50-yard-li...