By Sara Giardini
After having taken time off from school to tour California and record an album, senior Graham Stevenson understands the importance of having a place to play music. For everyone at Dickinson who has felt a lack of musical presence and culture, there is finally a place to go besides Weiss or joining the music department. Thanks to Graham, “co-captain” Emilia McManus and sophomore Aaron Annerman, this much-needed “Jam Space” is now available to Dickinson students.
“I saw that there was no music scene as a freshman. I had always pictured college being more cultural,” said Graham. He mentions that Connecticut College, the alma mater of his older brother, has a huge endowment to promote music among their student body, and he was disappointed that nothing similar seemed to exist here. After transferring to the University of Miami in search of a more urban setting and then transferring back to Dickinson, Graham made a point of creating an open musical space come to fruition. With the help of former President Durden, , Ken Schultes was able to find Graham an unused college-owned garage space next to Goodyear.
This garage and the project as a whole, known as Jam Space, is set to become a club where any members are free to jam using a sign up? out sheet and agreeing to take personal accountability for the garage and equipment during the time they’ve reserved. Over the next few weeks, the group hopes to upgrade and purchase equipment to make the possibility feasibility of rocking out with a full group a reality possibility.
Graham’s success under the musical pseudonym ‘Grumpus’ has given him the motivation to address this underserved niche that is actually extremely present on campus. His first full album entitled ‘Man Child’ released in January of this year, and his EP that dropped last May, can best be described as upbeat folktronic vibe.
Although Graham/Grumpus may love singing and songwriting, his favorite part of touring in California was driving cross-country and seeing new places. “Driving through New Mexico was pretty incredible,” he noted.
To learn more about Graham and his work, check out Grumpus’ website. Click to learn more about Jam Space or other Idea Fund supported projects.