For John Capogna ’09, his first priority is getting a college degree in finance. Somewhere in between, though, getting signed and touring the globe with his band, Jaime’s Smile , wouldn’t be a bad second gig.
This Friday at 8 p.m., Jaime’s Smile will play its first Connecticut set at the Acoustic Cafe in Bridgeport. Fellow student Dan Vaughan ’09 and his band, Dan Vaughan and Permanent Daylight, will take the stage after Capogna.
“We’re definitely psyched about the show,” Capogna said. “We really just want to spread our music everywhere and build a fan base here.”
Based out of Long Island, N.Y., the band’s first EP, “The Fearful and the Wonderful” is set for an April 2008 release.
The members include Capogna on the drums and fellow band members Nick Santini (guitar/vocals), Chuck McDermott (lead guitar/back up vocals) and Torey Pirolo (bass guitar).
“I pretty much met them from the [band] scene on Long Island,” said Capogna, who joined the band in the summer of 2007. “My buddy was like ‘I’m going to try out and probably not make it; you should try out.’ And I made it. After the first time we jammed, not only did it sound awesome, but they all have serious jobs as well.”
With songs including the upbeat, punk-ish “Eyes for Stealing,” the ska-oriented “Typical Night” and the energetic, metal-rock number “Monster’s Call,” Jaime’s Smile offers a mixed bag of music for its fans.
In the spectrum of mainstream music, Jaime’s Smile would most closely resemble the sounds of Taking Back Sunday, but without the screaming.
It is a mix of punk, ska, emo, rock and even a little metal.
Capogna had trouble describing the eclectic sound of Jaime’s Smile.
“It’s hard to put a label on us,” he said. “I think we’re extremely diverse in the sense that we’ll go from ska to alternative rock. We’re all over the place genre wise, but I think that’s what makes us cool.”
Jaime’s Smile, which was formed in January 2006, has come a long way from its first self-titled EP, released before Capogna joined the band. Capogna characterized the album as “pop-rock.”
“They had a self titled EP; now we only play three out of the nine songs [from that album],” he said. “The first EP, Nick [Santini] wrote every song, drum parts, baseline; this EP [The Fearful and the Wonderful] was all of us. It was more of a group project, it has all of our styles mixed.”
The band, meanwhile, is self-producing “The Fearful and the Wonderful,” only furthering the concept of a group effort. While Capogna did say that the group has worked with sound engineers, most of what the listener hears is from the work the band puts in.
And Jaime’s Smile is beginning to get noticed as well.
The band is currently in the finals of the Shure Wireless National Band Search, a competition sponsored by Shure Microphones and Sam Ash. If it wins in New York, the group will win a promotional package that includes $50,000, a flight to Los Angeles, the opportunity to make its own music video and the use of one of the group’s songs in an independent film.
While Capogna’s expectations are realistic, he said that the band has the potential to achieve stardom.
“I think [the chances] are good because, since I joined the band this summer, things have been taking off,” he said. “We’ve been drawing close to 100 people for every show, with people from out of state coming into the city to see us.”
Capogna’s band members realize this potential as well, and it spurs them to continue to work for success and credibility in the music industry.
“The talent and drive to achieve stardom in the industry is more than anyone could ask for, so to be fortunate enough to be working at it everyday, with the best three guys around in Jaime’s Smile, is a great feeling and should not be taken for granted,” said guitarist and singer Santini, via e-mail. “So we simply don’t.”
Check out the band’s myspace page to hear some of their music
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