As a part of Activities Council of Bradley University’s “Music Live!” series of performances, self-described “indie alternative rock” band Ocean Glass took control of the Student Center Ballroom stage Feb. 6.
After kicking off the evening with a rendition of Blink-182’s hit “First Date,” the band entertained the glow necklace adorned crowd with a mixture of their own songs as well as covers of other popular artists.
When it comes to writing original material, lead singer Nishat Ahmed, a student at University of Illinois, said that it takes a high amount of collaboration between all five members. As for the creative process that follows, lead guitarist Eric Stoll said the chemistry between the band allows for a consistently loose and easy working environment.
“If someone plays something that sounds good, we just go off it,” Stoll said. “[We] just let the creative juices flow.”
The group is comprised of five members, four of whom are Bradley students: sophomore sports communications major Pablo Iglesias, junior business management and leadership major Travis Kelso, junior mechanical engineering major Stoll and junior music and interactive media double major Luke Stilson, who is currently filling in as bassist for the semester.
Ocean Glass has appeared at various venues, including Illinois State University and the House of Blues in Chicago. According to Iglesias, last Friday’s performance was the first time the band had been scheduled to perform on the Hilltop since its formation, and they were excited to play in front of an audience comprised mainly of their fellow peers.
“We’re really fortunate to have this show [at Bradley],” Iglesias said. “We just really wanted to put on a show for everyone over here.”
Iglesias, who also coordinated the event, said that the Student Spotlight was designed to give Bradley students a chance to share their musical talents on campus.
“I am really hoping this [Student Spotlight] continues to grow because I know there’s a lot of unknown bands on this campus,” Iglesias said.
Currently, music from Ocean Glass can either be streamed on Spotify and Bandcamp or purchased from the iTunes store. Ocean Glass will be performing at Illinois State University on March 14.
