BU Today Sessions: St. Nothing
Songs woven with keyboards, synths, and samplers
Electronic music is a new venture for Marco Garzoni-Lawrence, the creative force behind St. Nothing. It wasn’t until college that his musical tastes and songwriting style shifted from piano-based acoustic music to keyboards, synths, and samplers.
“I’ve been listening to a lot of different music since I got to college,” says Garzoni-Lawrence (COM’15). “I wanted to have more than just piano and voice. One day, I was like, I should just do it. I don’t know what’s holding me back. I wanted to explore different sounds, and electronic music was the easiest way for me to do that.”
After some less than fruitful initial attempts, Garzoni-Lawrence redoubled his efforts in September 2012, immersing himself in his craft for two months and recording several songs. With encouragement from collaborator and cellist Jenna Calabro, works by St. Nothing (formerly Hall of Mirrors) were posted online as an EP titled Begin.
“The EP brought me a lot of opportunities, and I played a lot of really awesome shows,” he says. “I got to open for some bands that I’d never thought I would play with—some bands that I’d been listening to for a long time: Young Galaxy from Canada and this band Alpine from Australia that my guitarist really likes. She had shown them to me in high school, and then we were playing with them.”
Listen to “Keep” by St. Nothing.
Garzoni-Lawrence credits the success of his live act to supportive friends and musicians: Calabro, guitarist Sophia Carreras, and violist Meredith Nero (CGS’13, CAS’15). “It’s a fuller sound,” he says of their contributions. “The guitar can add either a spacier feel or a more intense, upbeat sound. The strings always help to bring out the feel of my music. I wouldn’t be doing this if it wasn’t for them.”
Living in a house full of musicians and artists, Garzoni-Lawrence says, he finds inspiration from his housemates and the touring bands that have played there. And while the public relations major is uncertain about whether or not St. Nothing will live on as a serious endeavor after college, he knows he will “always be doing music in some form.”
“I love music and have been doing it for most of my life,” he says. “I think it’ll always be my main hobby.”
Be sure to stop by the Ellipse at the Center for Student Services, 100 Bay State Rd., tonight, Thursday, April 24, from 6 to 8 p.m. for the “BU Today Sessions” release party, cosponsored by the Dean of Students Office. Featured will be several of the groups who have performed as part of our 2014 “BU Today Sessions” series.
St. Nothing will perform on Monday, May 19, at the Middle East Upstairs, 475 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge.
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