Last Saturday, campus radio station WXCU hosted another entry to their monthly “Live and Upfront” series.
In its fourth semester as one of WXCU’s signature experiences, “Live and Upfront” continues to offer students pre-professional opportunities. Matthew Barcus, the general manager of WXCU and creator of “Live and Upfront,” said the event’s lineup usually consists of university students.
“We try to reach out to [university] students first, and get as many people who are students [at the university] on the radio,” Barcus said. “But we’ve also extended invitations out to bands from the greater Columbus area.”
The shows are usually broken into two parts: music and interviews. This month, the lineup included Riot Baby and The Zeitgeist.
Riot Baby, whose music is completely instrumental, includes a mixture of both current students and former students: Harry Stratton (guitar), Nate Dickas (bass) and Austyn Randall (drums).
Despite a deep-rooted university background, this is the first show that the band has played together.
Stratton, the band’s founder and one of its guitarists, said Riot Baby started during the COVID-19 pandemic and became something much bigger.
After two initial projects that were mostly ambient, Stratton said Columbus’s post-hardcore music scene inspired the new Riot Baby sound, which is “heavier, noisier.”
“I started working toward creating more structurally complex songs with more going on … and made it something you could actually listen to all the way through,” Stratton said.
The band uses multiple pedals to shape their sound and specifically highlighted the importance of the echo pedal.
Riot Baby’s music is available across streaming platforms, including Bandcamp. They described Bandcamp as similar to SoundCloud but more beneficial for helping artists get paid. Riot Baby’s current projects include “Little Grey Triangles,” “Trains Run by My House,” “Edmunds Fitzgerald,” as well as a new album expected to release closer to the summer.
Riot Baby’s next show is Feb. 25 at Spacebar at 7 p.m.
The second band of the night was The Zeitgeist, a band from Athens, Ohio.
Barcus knew of the band through his friend Miles MacDonald, the band’s drummer. Other band members include Heath Benton (guitar), Jayden Rahmon (bass) and Riley James (vocals and guitar).
Formed in spring 2024, they described their sound as mostly rock-based with indie influences and said performing in the TV studio environment was a “great experience.”
Their set opened with “In It,” followed by “Martin Brudski,” “CD,” and closed with “In the End.” James wrote the song “Skin,” which the band said stands out to them. Benton shared that “In the End” reminds him of childhood, and also mentioned his love for guitar pedals, saying they give him “a reason to spend money on something he genuinely cares about.”
The band is expecting to release a new single by the end of March and distribute music on most streaming platforms, though they are still working on creating a Bandcamp account.
They are also preparing for an upcoming Elliott Smith cover set in Athens. The group cited Smith as a major overall influence.
Other inspirations include Alex G, The Beatles and Origami Angel.
The Zeitgeist shared that their biggest goal is to go on tour and find a way to make money doing what they love. “Live and Upfront” continues to provide a space for original music, giving artists the opportunity to perform live on air and build their presence beyond campus.
