On Friday, April 15, the CSULB Musicians’ Club hosted the “Masters of Sound” event, consisting of 30+ musicians performing in the Beach Auditorium.
The “Masters of Sound” performance consisted of a rotation of club members playing a variety of tunes from Olivia Rodrigo to David Bowie.
The animated crowd expressed their enthusiasm for the performances. During the club’s rendition of Dua Lipa’s “Levitating,” synchronized applause erupted from the audience as the song dropped to acapella for a few seconds.
“It’s a feedback loop– you give what the audience gives and vice versa,” said Ben Beyer, the club’s president. “You feed off each other’s energy and the crowd was wonderful.”
During the somber half of Billie Eilish’s “Happier Than Ever,” sang by Lei Zaragoza and Trinity Key, the crowd raised their phones above the seats, shining their lights and waving them side to side.
Drummer Jake McLoy, a first year mathematics major, said the club allows him to step out of his comfort zone. “Masters of Sound” was McLoy’s first time singing in front of a crowd.
McLoy took center stage and sang “Cherub Rock” by The Smashing Pumpkins. McLoy headbanged, kicked and danced throughout the performance and the crowd reciprocated his energy–yelling and cheering.
“I brought out all my punk moves,” McLoy said. “I can’t just stand still during one of the most energetic manic songs that we have.”
The club held a songwriting contest in February and chose two winners to perform their original music at “Masters of Sound.”
One of the winners was Niki Amini, a third-year psychology major, who performed her original song “Out of Orbit.”
Amini said she listens to a variety of genres including R&B and alternative music, which could be detected in her smooth and sultry performance.
“I haven’t ever performed a song of my own live with a whole band like that before,” Amini said.
The other winner, Virgyl Basas, a second-year biology major, performed “Touchstarved.” The song paired a disco vibe inspired by Michael Jackson and Mitski’s “Nobody” with lyrics that he said were personal.
Basas said was nervous to share his personal lyrics about yearning for love and physical touch.
“It was kind of a moment of vulnerability for me,” Basas said. “It’s just not something that I really talked about with other people.”
Baas said the song is based on an occurrence he had at a party with a man that led him on. “Touchstarved” expressed the need for validation and emotions from his other crushes.
“I like seeing my song come to life in front of everyone and performing it for the first time in front of a live audience was so cool,” Basas said. “It was something I would have never thought I would do in my life.”
Beyer took the stage as the vibrant red curtains closed and announced the final song of the night.
“Y’all ready to get crazy?” Beyer said.
As the curtains slowly opened, Marie Massoth stood center and lifted her hand–gesturing the rock and roll “devil horns.”
Massoth sang “Crazy Train” by Ozzy Osbourne and was accompanied by seven musicians on bass, guitar, keyboard, trombone and trumpet.
The energy was electric as the previous performers and fellow club mates rushed to the front. Attendees jumped and danced together and celebrated the final performers of the night.
“I think this club is a really special place for a lot of people every Thursday night,” Amini said. “It’s a haven for people where music is their side hobby.”
The Musicians’ Club meets Thursday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Multimedia Center in Room 100. To learn more about the club, visit their Instagram.