It wouldn’t be a year at Hillsdale College without singing along to a live cover of The Killer’s 2004 hit “Mr. Brightside” at least three times. That is partially thanks to the effort of student bands like James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes.
Carrying the torch of a seven-year legacy, the student band upholds the tradition of the former Phi Mu Alpha bands with the main goal of keeping an appreciation for grunge music alive – and having a good time while doing it.
“We want people to show up and we want people to jump up and down and sing along and have fun,” senior guitarist Michael Thelen said. “That’s sort of the driving thing at the end of the day. So if we can have people doing that, then we’re happy.”
Made up of Thelen, senior lead singer Mathias Rhein, senior drummer Nathan Bly, junior guitarist Avery Miller, and sophomore bassist Matthew Byrne, the group performs at a diverse range of campus events. From house parties to Battle of The Bands to Centralhallapalooza, James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes know how to put on a show.
“I think the legacy is cool,” Miller said. “It’s cool to cheer on people that you know. Yeah, it’s just a music fraternity, but at the same time, it’s really cool to be like, ‘hey, I know that guy on a personal level. He’s my friend, but he also rocks.’”
The band name follows the formula set by their Phi Mu Alpha predecessors: a two-worded name plus an alcohol-related phrase. Examples from past years include Deaf Davey and the Wine Boxes, Dick Whiskey and the Short Stacks, Art Morgan and the Rum Runners, and last year’s contribution, Stella Ann and the Half Pints. Unfortunately, the proposed name “Spiked Jäger and the Rack Chasers” didn’t make the cut.
“It’s funny because if I was choosing the name just from scratch, I’d pick a name that is a lot shorter and snappier and kind of more memorable, but when you’ve got a tradition that’s that long-standing, you just can’t touch it,” Thelen said.
Part of the members’ pull to do music at Hillsdale stemmed from their encounters with the Phi Mu Alpha bands at Welcome Party and CHP during their early years on campus.
“John Szczotka was the reason I started singing here,” Rhein said. “Watching him, I was like, ‘Wait, that’s really cool. That’s hot. I need to do that.’”
Bly agreed, remembering drummer alumnus Drew Godsell ’21.
“I’ll never stick out my tongue as much as Drew,” Bly said. “Every time Drew Godsell drummed, he would start making this face. He made the best faces. It was incredible.”
When it comes to selecting new members, the band agreed that it comes together organically. Typically, the remaining members of the band, only Thelen this year, assess how many openings there are and what kind of musicians are needed to complete the band.
“I was looking around like, ‘Who have I played with? Who am I tight with? Who’s a good musician that I can trust?’” Thelen said. “We’re not exclusive in terms of we only play with each other because Phi Mu gives us a lot of opportunities to play with other people that might not be in the same dedicated bandwidth.”
After musician selection comes the task of choosing songs that balance both the integrity of their skill with ones that can be widely enjoyed and recognized. The band also takes into account their own personal style preferences in order to amplify their performances.
“It’s actually surprising how few songs are like that,” Rhein said. “It’s a very specific genre that you can play live, still get people to jump up and down, and make it sound good. A lot of what we’ve found this year that has been really fun is doing covers of songs that you wouldn’t normally see as covers, and coming up with some cooler instrumental versions of those.”
The band could not agree on whether or not “Shut Up and Dance” by Walk The Moon deserved any more chances at one of their performances, but they were able to agree that playing alongside competent musicians made the experience far more enjoyable.
“A week ago, I mentioned that it’d be cool to play ‘Viva la Vida’ sometime,” Rhein said “Then Michael was like, ‘well what about like this?’ and just started chugging away at the song. All the boys hopped on, and it was awesome. It was a couple hours before the gig that we were rehearsing for.”
The band is most excited for the Phi Mu Alpha-sponsored Battle of The Bands in November, where a handful of bands compete for applause and the status of being Hillsdale’s favorite student band. But they’re also anticipating the thrill of the spring semester’s CHP Showdown and CHP.
“I think people here give a lot of energy to the things that they are passionate about,” Thelen said. “If someone’s passionate about playing their instrument or being in a band, then they will give that their all. Between that and SAB fostering and encouraging that with Welcome Party, CHP showdown, and CHP and Phi Mu doing things like Battle of The Bands, there’s just really good infrastructure for that to happen.”
James Bulleit and the Dirty Blondes will continue to play Hillsdale classics and hope that future students will continue the tradition after the members graduate.
“I’m really happy to see Schizmatics take up the mantle, like the younger guys doing it, and their style of music is definitely more pop-y, so I hope to see more bands carry on the grunge tradition and the emo stuff,” Rhein said. “We will continue to play ‘Mr. Brightside’ until our fingers dry out and our voices crack, because that’s what the people want.”