Year in review: CU musicians play their part in NYC music scene

When applying to Columbia, most students cite the academics as the main draw. For certain musically inclined students, though, the proximity to New York venues and music scenes means that they can pursue two passions at once. And, while many students complain that the Columbia bubble is too insular, the boundaries between the school and the city have proven to be surprisingly porous when it comes to the music scene.

Anthony da Costa, CC ’13, chose Columbia for its academics despite his devotion to music and performance. “I applied to a bunch of musical schools, and I got in. But what I would experience at a music school and what I wanted to experience at Columbia University are two totally different things,” he said in an interview with Spectator in February. “Columbia is a huge melting pot with differing views, but with the same general objective: learning, growing, and appreciating life. That’s what I wanted.”

Da Costa frequently performs at on-campus venue Postcrypt Coffeehouse, but also exports his talent downtown. Along with fellow Columbians Tony Gong, CC ’11 and a Spectator opinion columnist, and Kayte Dzime-Assison, CC ’11 and known by her stage name Kayte Grace, da Costa took his musical aspirations from Alma Mater to the East Village to perform at the Sidewalk Café, a stomping ground for anti-folk greats such as Regina Spektor.

For Grace, being separated from the more vibrant downtown music scene has its perks, as she draws inspiration from living in Morningside Heights. “One song I wrote called ‘Revolution’ was inspired by homeless people, by a lot of people in our neighborhood I’ve gotten to know, and about the gaps between people,” Grace told Spectator in February.

For Alex Klein, CC ’12, and his bandmate, NYU student Anthony Natoli, not being limited to one campus gives them license to explore wider city themes and have a diverse fan base.

“Our music is very about New York, because we both grew up here. It’s about the darker side of New York. People always talk about the glam New York nightlife. ... We’re more about the deviance of it,” Klein said in an interview with Spectrum in April. His band, Sssen, performed as part of the CMJ Music Marathon this fall after winning an on-campus battle of the bands, and performs frequently both at Columbia fraternities and in venues downtown and in Brooklyn.

Sam Reider and the Lost Boys consider being in New York City a chance to combine their shared love of jazz with less neatly classifiable interests. “The majority of young jazz talent comes to New York for college,” Jeff Picker, CC ’11, told Spectrum in May.

“We’re able to play at jazz shows but also play in more, like, fun dancing atmosphere,” bandmate Sam Reider, CC ’11, added. The eight-person ensemble, which features three Columbia students alongside peers from Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and the New School, has established a niche playing at the Harlem venue Shrine, as well as various other city venues.

Several Columbia alumni have remained in or around New York City to pursue careers in music. Ishmael Osekre, GS ’09, currently fronts Osekre and the Lucky Bastards. “It [the on-campus music scene] can sometimes feel a little insular,” he told Spectator in April. But despite branching out into the city, he said, “My life is still Columbia.”