October 16, 2014

Page 1

Thur sday, October 16, 20 14

Volume L X X I X , Number 10

w w w.mus t angne w s .net

Meet Pleasantly: 5 musicians who’ve carved their own genre and don’t plan on changing Brenna Swanston

@Brenna_Swanston

STEVEN PARDO | COURTESY PHOTO CATHEDRAL POP | A self-described “cathedral pop” band with a “soft touch of velvet,” Pleasantly comprises Cal Poly students (left to right) Kevin Hegyi, Thomas Sykpens, Dan Potts, Javier Torres and Gaby Vakili.

A walk through Pleasantly’s foyer could transform them from complete strangers to familiar friends. The Razor scooter leaning against the porch, the cello propped against a bedroom wall, the bong forgotten on the living room table across from a tattered piano. These were the guys you loved to jam with. They crammed into a tucked-away room, a mess of cords, instruments, sheet music and moppy hair. And for a band with only one performance and a small handful of practices under their belt, their sound was tight. In the humble white house where Pleasantly held band practice,

the 100-degree Saturday wound slowly to an end as the group eased into its signature sound: a modern, catchy take on 1960s psychedelic rock. Pleasantly calls it cathedral pop. Their lazy melodies drifted across the stretch of dead grass before the house: dreamy vocal harmonies, twangy guitar riffs and an upbeat rhythm section, all against a wall of synthesizer. The result — pop-rock blended neatly with the echoey effect of cathedral music — explained the group’s invented genre perfectly. They busted through a couple tunes — including their self-declared “signature song” called “Charlotte” — before deciding they’d

had enough of the stuffy practice room. They filed out of the house and lined up shoulder-to-shoulder on the front porch, chatting and joking with each other. Drummer and electrical engineering freshman Dan Potts said the band members’ long-standing friendships have helped their music progress quickly. “It’s not something new to us,” Potts said. “So it’s actually pretty easy just to mush together.” >>

see PLEASANTLY, pg 5.

Cal Poly, West Coast jump on Yik Yak bandwagon Savannah Sperry @SavannahJSperry

Yik Yak — Twitter without the handles. The anonymous social media application hit the market in 2013, primarily targeting college students. It acts as a bulletin board where anonymous posters share their thoughts with Yik Yak users in a 10-mile radius. According to Yik Yak Lead Community Developer Cam Mullen, the app is very popular on the Cal Poly campus. In fact, 23 percent of Cal Poly undergraduates are on Yik Yak, Mullen said — and the San Luis Obispo community actually crashed the app’s servers in August. The app is mostly known for its outlandish posts. For example, some samples from the Yik Yak feed include: “My anaconda … was actually drunk enough to consider some of that …”, “When you take that extra large bong rip & know things are gonna get freaking weird within the next few minutes” and the ever-so-classy “Up if you got a big cock.” Some posts have malicious intent, targeting specific groups, such as Cal Poly greek life organizations. >> DAKOTA GREENWICH | MUSTANG NE WS YAKKITY YAK | The San Luis Obispo community took a liking to the application, actually crashing the app with all its posts in August.

see YIK YAK, pg 3.

Minter earns big honors, Mustangs hit the road Mustang News Staff Report @CPMustangSports

Fresh off its first loss in nearly three weeks, the Cal Poly men's soccer team will travel east to face Sacramento State on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Mustangs (7-3-3, 2-2-1 Big West Conference) have fared well this season and can thank Chase Minter for their success as of late. The junior — named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week — is responsible for Cal Poly's past three goals. With 15 points on the season, he's the Big West leader in that category. His six goals rank second in the conference. Minter also ranks second in the conference with 39 shots. Sacramento State hasn’t had much luck in 2014. In 13 games, the Hornets have notched 117 shots and 10 goals, the lowest tallies of any team in the conference. Though the Hornets have the only overall record below .500 in the North Division, they’ve pulled out a pair of conference victories, matching Cal Poly, UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara in the win column. After a bout with the Aggies on Oct. 22, the Mustangs will head down the coast for the 40th installment (Division I) of the Blue-Green Rivalry. Cal Poly kicks off with UC Santa Barbara on Oct. 25 before hosting the Gauchos on Nov 2. UC Santa Barbara currently owns the Blue-Green Rivalry series edge (25-124), though the past 10 installments have featured four wins for each squad and two stalemates. The No. 1 rivalry in college soccer — according to collegesoccernews.com — kicks off at 7 p.m. next weekend in Santa Barbara.

News... 1-3 | Arts... 4-5 | Opinion... 6 | Classifieds... 7 | Sports... 8

IAN BILLINGS | MUSTANG NE WS


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