B-DEIS Records executive board members Sungtae Park '12 and Charley Wolinsky '12 talked to justArts about the club's goings-on.JustArts: What's going on with B-DEIS Records?

Sungtae Park: B-DEIS Records recently threw a dance/rave party, themed Snow White, with three of our own DJs. It was highly successful as much as it was profitable. Snow White was the first of its kind that the club has done, and it was much more successful than we initially expected. Besides the new dance event, B-DEIS Records is doing what it usually does: providing resources for independent musicians of Brandeis, hosting music concerts, providing free music lessons and working with the activist clubs. At the same time, we are in the process of finding and integrating student DJs of Brandeis into the club. After all, B-DEIS Records is a club that supports all genres of music.

JA: Which charities have you supported in the past?

Charley Wolinsky: We have done concerts supporting Haiti Relief, Flood Relief for Pakistan and Colleges Against Cancer, as well as many others.

JA: Why do you guys choose to support these charities?

SP: We believe in general that charity should always be an integral part of one's life. You can contribute to charities in many ways. As a music club, throwing benefit concerts is our way of contributing to worthy causes. Indeed, one of our core objectives of the club is to work with the activist clubs.

JA: How do you guys interact with student performers?

CW: We send out e-mails to the listserv frequently, and people who are interested contact us about performing. After we've determined who plays, we make the list as varied as possible.

JA: Does the club provide any guidance for new performers or students wanting to join a new band?

CW: B-DEIS Records provides two main services to students besides putting on concerts and charity events: We offer instruction to anyone who wants to learn instruments, and we also provide the rehearsal space and equipment for bands. The practice space is available in the Shapiro dorm first floor lounge in Massell Quad from 2 to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 2 to 6 p.m. on Sunday. It's particularly useful for drummers because there are not many other options around campus. This is a way our members can get together and rehearse for any of their gigs. We also have lessons that our volunteer instructors offer. We offer guitar, vocal, bass, keyboard, drum and DJ lessons. The DJ lessons are new, and it's pretty exciting.

JA: How do DJ lessons work?

CW: [Laughs] I was thinking about taking one, actually. I think a laptop is required, and maybe a few programs, but you better ask a DJ that question. If anyone is interested, he or she can e-mail bdeisrecords@gmail.com and we can match you with our DJ instructor.

JA: There seems to be a rise in popularity of DJ-focused events on campus.

SP: Certainly. And I believe that B-DEIS Records and Student Events will be the two main organizations that will be sponsoring on-campus DJ-based events from now on, and we could even be seeing some collaborations, and we actually have collaborated in a number of areas before. We are continuing to strive to make our events diverse and innovative. We will probably be seeing some integration of other musical acts in between the DJ acts in the future.

JA: Do you teach lessons?

CW: I'm currently taking on three students. How it works is that we pick a time and usually meet for 30 minutes a week. We always find something to work on, and I learn as much from them as they do from me. Making progress with a student who doesn't meet frequently can be tough, but it's generally very rewarding. My newest student is from Spain, and he's a midyear. He's actually already really good. We're just jamming a little bit now, and I'm showing him a little bit about theory.

JA: What are you future goals for B-DEIS Records?

SP: B-DEIS Records is still in its growing stage both for its general membership and the executive board. We are also looking for ways to incorporate more DJs into B-DEIS Records. One very important long-term issue that Brandeis as a community needs to tackle is the fact that the University has still yet to provide a permanent, decent rehearsal space for the whole community.

CW: There's one thing that I really want to do,which is band making. It's tricky to go about matching students with each other sometimes. People don't seem to be aware that band matchmaking is something that we do, so it can be hard for me to make a band if only two students sign up. Another tough thing is the lack of Brandeis facilities that allow a band to rehearse with a drum set. It's hard to soundproof a dorm or a lounge, and there are problems with moving a set to the Shapiro Campus Center too. Even so, we're all working hard to grow and prosper as a club.