by Marcus Staerkel ’16 

Junior Dante Pasquino, an aspiring bass player, is one of those students who truly shines bright among the Regis Jesuit student body.

A self taught bass player, Dante has been learning and playing the bass for two and a half years and continues to play in a band, Blue Whale.

Playing for a crowd isn’t new for Dante. He describes it as “Extremely nerve racking and if you mess up it really throws you off for the rest of the song.” Playing with his band or at other functions Dante has spent a fair amount of time in the spotlight, but just playing with other people is where he finds peace with his music.

His inspiration comes from an unexpected place. Dante first interest stems from the movie Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World and has fueled his infatuation for the bass ever since. He told me, “Once I saw that movie I was immediately driven for the bass.”

Two and a half years may not sound like a lot but as Dante told me, “Bass is actually very easy to learn because there is no chords, you only have to deal with one string at a time.” He doesn’t even feel the need to read musical notes. Dante only uses tabs, “They are so easy to read and are very helpful when you are writing music”, said Dante.

His role in his band, like all bass players, is to keep rhythm. The bass player is also acts as support for the other musicians. If one member gets off beat while playing he can just listen for the rhythm and get back on track.

When I asked what it was like to actually have a song come together, he said “When a song comes together out of nowhere and you find that sound you are looking for it is very liberating almost.” They have released an instrumental demo on Soundcloud. They describe their genre as “Indie of Indie Pop.” Needless to say they are very talented and I have been told that they plan to continue playing despite college.

Check out Noah Agan’s profile here.