For student band Luego, this fall is the time to finally grow up. The folk-rock outfit-which comprises a diverse blend of Durham locals and Duke students, past and present-is past its infancy and ready to take its show on the road. But before kicking off their regional tour, they are looking to showcase their new sound a little closer to home.
This Friday, the group will be playing at the Broad Street Cafe alongside fellow Duke alumni, Bombadil. Luego's lead singer, Patrick Phelan, Trinity '07, is expecting big things.
"We're hoping we can get 300 or 400 people out there," he said. And after a week of tireless promotion, the group looks ready to fill their new venue. But when Luego takes the stage tomorrow night, it will set a remarkable precedent not only for the band, but also for the University they call home.
This Friday will mark an important shift in campus-artist relations. The University, through the Duke University Union, will be putting up almost $400 to pay for buses from the West Campus bus stop to the Broad Street Cafe. The decision, which was spearheaded by junior Katie Neufeld, was important because of the venue's off-campus location.
"No one knows where it is," said Neufeld, Director of Live Entertainment for Small Town Records. "If we wanted people to go, we'd need the buses." And as far as Phelan is concerned, Broad Street is pretty much the only option. "The Broad Street Cafe is definitely the best place to play in Durham," he said. "It has good acts, a good set-up and a good system."
The group is hoping to expand its fan base, an option not exactly offered by traditional campus venues such as the Armadillo Grill.
"We are indie-rockers, not some college band," Phelan said.
The group, which plays a self-described blend of psychedelic folk-rock, has spent the past year refining its sound, rotating members until finally settling on its current line up: Phelan, sophomore Rebecca Wood, 2007 graduate Dan Carlin, graduate student Sean Connor, and Jason Hedrick, a 29-year-old Durham-area engineer.
The members' musical backgrounds are as disparate as their occupational statuses. Wood and Carlin are classically trained in the viola and cello, respectively, while Phelan is a relative newcomer to the music scene, having only started playing his freshman year at Duke. This diffuse blend of backgrounds, however, "only makes the music more melodic," said Wood, who has taken ten years of formal viola training.
In order to ensure Luego's long-term status, Phelan and "Orbit," the group's manager, spent the summer formulating a business plan. Though they currently are in the red, Phelan hopes to turn a profit sometime in 2008.
In the meantime, Small Town Records is helping Luego foot the bill. Luego has already cut their first EP through the DUU student-run record label and hopes to record more this fall. Recording through Small Town has spared the band from paying out-of-pocket for studio time.
"Small Town is such a great thing," Phelan said. "They've saved us so much money."
When asked about Small Town Records' plans for future off-campus shows, Neufeld responded, "We don't have anything in the works right now, but we'd definitely love to do something with any other bands out there."
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