When they are not studying for their classes, the Sphinx band can often be found strengthening their melodious bond through collaboration and practice in hopes of taking their musical act to larger audiences and more prominent venues.
The Sphinx jazz band, made up of Long Beach City College students, makes sure they are available for events, like a fundraiser led by the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society club on April 23 in the quad.
The bands drummer Dylan Cutler gave insight on what type of songs they play as a band.
“Funky R&B is definitely where we gravitate more to. It is a style where we can really groove with one another and even the people hearing our music approve of that style,” said Cutler.
Guitarist Anthony Lopez described how the band found harmony in the music when they played together.
“The three of us started playing together about four years ago. We weren’t always playing together. We honestly started out separated and not a full band just yet. It was more of a mixture of everybody plays with one another. Here and there we would have some jam sessions but we never thought that we would ever become a full band,” said Lopez.
The band found common ground between members who previously played together.
“Me and Kate, the bassist, played together all the time. We’re actually part of our church’s band and that’s where we met up,” said Cutler.
The majority of the band are self taught musicians; each of them had their own unique way of learning their instruments.
“For me, 100 percent I was taught on my own. I would pull up YouTube videos to look up tabs and to me it was more being proactive in improving my craft,” said Miguel Orozco.
Though they have chemistry playing as a full band, the members of Sphinx desire to be exposed to a greater audience so that even more people can hear their music.
“We do play for the school, but I feel like it’s not often enough that we are seen by people. In order for us to build our confidence, we need to play in front of people even more. This is so we can have a feel for each other and ultimately to build our chemistry as a band,” said Lopez.
The main goal that the band wants is to be exposed to more audiences in order to take their craft to the next stage; they dream of traveling and performing more gigs together so their confidence in themselves and each other will grow.