With more than 13,000 undergraduates at Cornell, there are bound to be a few young rock stars on the path to fame and fortune. Five of them have teamed up to form Weggalo Star, a band comprised of Jordan Bernstein on lead guitars, Dave Vieira on vocals, guitar, and keyboard, Ricardo Villareal on drums, Ariyan Basu on vocals, guitar, keyboard and bass, and lastly, Brian Han on vocals, guitar, keyboard and bass. Their music is funky and eclectic; it’s a unique mix of rock, electronic, blues and experimental pop you can chill or rock out to. Their diverse musical backgrounds and varying tastes surface through their original music, influenced by classic legends like the Beatles to Radiohead and Grizzly Bear, just to name a few of their favorites. The members are “jack of all trades” with all music and witty lyrics written and produced by the band released under the name Weggalo Star. In addition, they’re media savvy with not only Myspace and Facebook pages to promote themselves, but also an easy-to-navigate and creative website. Weggalostar.com exhibits all of the band’s information, songs, and videos on an old-school television box they call “Weggalovision.” One can control the music by turning the “channel changer” on the television.

The members first joined forces as freshman, living as residents of Cornell’s Just About Music program house, first playing together sporadically for fun. By sophomore year, their interests aligned when they all moved into an off campus house and transformed their attic into their treasured practice space with microphones hanging from the ceiling. This space cultivates their talents and creativity resulting in some sweet sounds. In addition to recording their music from their home, they plan to take advantage of the studio time they won at Rep Studios through WVBR’s University of Rock competition. After watching them rock out live at the Nines at their first show of the semester, one of my favorite songs of Weggalo Star is “I’ll Wait” for which they made a hilarious and professionally done music video (although I’m pretty sure the “blood” looks like ketchup!). Go check it out on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WfgmZ3FMtY. Also, their new song “Dandelion Pie,” inspired by the band’s summer travels to various continents, is amazing: Hans’ soothing voice provides instant relaxation. Come see them play for a night of fun out on the town in Ithaca at the new music lounge in the Commons called Wildfire Bistro (where Lost Dog used to be) or at the Nines (look at their Myspace page for dates and times).  When I asked Hans what awaited Weggalo Star post-being stuck in Ithaca, he said, “If things pan out for Weggalo Star and we become an intergalactic music phenomenon, so be it.  If not, Dave’s going to be making rocket ships and working on Pixar films. Ricardo and Jordan are going to be world renowned doctors. Ariyan’s going to be a psychology professor. And I’ll most likely be back home in Los Angeles working on audio post production for films and such.  Either way, I think we’re all definitely blessed with the options we’ve ended up with, so we’re always thankful for that.” Clearly, the band has the right attitude: the energy, enthusiasm, and fun they bring to the stage is contagious and the crowd is soon up on their feet joining in. Don’t miss the opportunity to witness our Cornellian peers’ hard work and go watch Weggalo Star live! Warning: prepare to be mind- blown by their talent.

By Elise Jacobs