Alumni of The Grift set the drift

Author: Penny Chen

The modern-day music industry is plagued with one-dimensional artists. From Ricky Martin to the Red Hot Chili Peppers to Elliott Smith, this problem transgresses all genres. When was the last time you listened to an album where all 12 tracks did not sound like one continuous song? Well, here's one band that begs to differ from mainstream radio hits and, unlike a large majority of indie rock artists that will only get played on WRMC, also manages to bring a high level of musical talent to their records.

The Grift is a Vermont-based band comprised of four Middlebury alumni: Clint Bierman (vocals, guitar), Peter Day (vocals, bass, trumpet, guitar), Jeff Vallone (vocals, turntables, keyboards, bass, percussion) and Neil Matthews (drums, vocals). Having played New England prep schools, public schools, larger clubs in New York and Boston and, most recently, the Middlebury Fitness Center, these guys are seasoned pros at what they do. For the past few years, they have been working hard at building up a following - between schools, myspace.com, iTunes and their home page, www.thegrift.com, they seem to have developed a solid fan base. They have even led a song-writing workshop at a public high school in New York, serving as role models for a younger generation, letting them know that it is possible to choose music as a lifelong career. Come Nov. 4, The Grift will be playing an all-ages charity concert for The Gailer School at the Vergennes Opera House.

Their fourth and most recent release, "Life Beyond Aluminum," is a strong display of musical versatility. With the help of veteran producer Gary Mallaber (Van Morrison, Steve Miller Band, Bruce Springsteen) and engineer Greg Tobler (Norah Jones, David Bowie), the 11 tracks on this album range from slow ballads and folk-rockish tunes to funky, Afro inspired rhythms and mariachi-esque trumpet lines. Even band-member Day himself describes it as "borderline schizophrenic". "Life Beyond Aluminum," eclectic and cohesive, epitomizes one of the main goals of the band - "to play good music and to write songs that get people thinking and keep people interested after multiple listenings." With the slightly lackluster vocal melodies being its only drawback, this multi-layered album was well received by the fans.

When questioned about career goals, Day jokingly said, "World domination". In reality, though, the band does not have any delusions about the future. "None of us have much patience or love for modern cookie-cutter, L.A. rock," said Day, "We certainly aren't the next big thing and we don't fit the mold of the big thing that happened last year, we're just doing our thing and there's nothing else we'd rather be doing." So, at least for the time being, they will be sticking to crashing on friends' floors, Thermarests and Aerobeds.

In addition to The Grift, there are numerous Middlebury alumni and current Middlebury students who are pursuing careers as music artists. Rich Price and Bierman (of The Grift) co-wrote the song "I'm On My Way" that was included on the Shrek 2 soundtrack. Anais Mitchell and Courtney Brocks remain active on the northeast folk circuit and Dave Koltai has seen success on an international level. More recently, the band Larson plans on touring the country this coming summer and the boys of Penelope will be pursuing their career in New York City.