Although not everyone at Duke is headed to Office Space-esque cubicles with eight different bosses and T.P.S. reports, most Duke grads don't find themselves working part-time in yardwork either.
Most, though, does not mean all.
Enter Daniel Michalak: Trinity '06, Durham resident and lead singer of Bombadil. Michalak rises at 8:30 a.m.-when he feels like it, that is-and heads over to a Durham elementary school to assistant teach (read: tie shoelaces). When school lets out, or whenever he feels like it, he does yardwork for extra cash and then heads home for dinner. After dinner his band gathers, and they practice their grassroots, upbeat yet casual songs late into the night.
A simple enough lifestyle, it seems, but when so many Dukies ended up in a chair at a desk, how did Michalak end up here?
"It's a slow process," Michalak explained. "I'm not going to say that you wake up one day and you say, 'Hey, this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life.' There were a lot of turning points."
The main turning point occurred one night after a show at a small, crummy bar last year. The manager of a band called the Avett Brothers came up to Michalak and asked if Bombadil would open for the Avett Brothers the next night. They did, and in front of 800 people, they didn't disappoint. The next day, the manager asked if Bombadil would like to work for the Avett Brothers' record label, Ramseur Records, from then on.
Delighted, Bombadil accepted and the band began to record an EP. The parents of the band members, however, needed some persuading.
"It took a long time to convince [my parents] that what we're doing is serious," Michalak said. "But hey, it's better now. My mom loves music, and she's coming in on Friday to see us at Duke."
Since teaming up with Ramseur Records, things have been looking up for Bombadil. They've generated press from some influential players in music media, including National Public Radio (while still students), The Independent Weekly and Encore. Not bad for a group named after a Tolkien character who lives a day's walk from society (and, presumably, all forms of media).
Still, the touring and devotion to creating new music can be taxing on any group. In Bombadil's case, they are losing drummer John Michalak (Daniel's younger brother) at the end of the summer to his medical school aspirations. As they hunt for a new drummer, Michalak and the two other band members-Stuart Robinson and Bryan Rahja, both Trinity '06-seem relatively unfazed by their uncertain future.
"I know that because of the connections I made in my four years at Duke that there are people I can rely on," Michalak said. "It's not so much the piece of paper, but the people that I met at Duke-that is my job security."
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