A Blue Book that you can look forward to

By Aitor Zabalegui

Although it sounds like an urban legend, back in the 50's and 60's Project Blue Book was a governmental study of unidentified flying objects and their potential threat to national security.

The United States Air Force collected thousands of UFO reports, which were all analyzed and filed.

The project was shut down in December 1969 under the conclusion that most of the 12,618 UFO reports were misidentifications of natural phenomena or conventional aircraft.

Yet, around six percent of the reports were deemed unknowns, or inexplicable by conventional analysis.

Some believe that the project was simply an elaborate attempt to cover up UFO evidence, while others chose to accept the government's conclusions, forever mythicizing the possibility that alien life forms visited our planet.

Six students at Santa Clara University have also defied investigation, forming a band that many could conclude as unclassifiable.

Not rooted in any form of conventional genre, Project Blue Book is a group of unearthly talented musicians on a visit to rock your face off.

A rundown of the band goes as follows: Rob O'Block on guitar, Greg Croak on bass and vocals, Matt Cambria on drums, Mike Patton on keytar and vocals, Eric Zadoroznyj on trumpet and Nick Benavides on vocals and sax.

When asked to define their influences and style, the group simply laughed.

"Everyone in the band comes from a different musical background. You'll find bluegrass, funk, reggae, metal, and all kinds of influences," said O'Block.

"Daft Punk is probably one of my favorite groups," added Cambria.

When asked if the group was trying to reinvigorate funk, Cambria plainly stated, "I don't think funk has ever gone away. People like to party."

The band was formed in Boston with original members, Cambria, O'Block and Croak.

"We started playing together in high school and tried to start making it a serious thing after college," elaborated Croak on the group's creation. "This past year I invited Eric, Mike and Nick to play with us and come to Boston over the summer. It was really the only time we had to work together as a band."

After recording a five-song EP titled, "Lampin'," the band embarked on a modest U.S. tour beginning in Boston and moving down through Austin, Texas.

Tracks like "Vishnu" and "Space Funk" demonstrate a band cutting loose and stretching out in their first time in the studio.

Despite the band's many members, the group maintains a comfortable dynamic, playing off each other without ever becoming overwrought or excessive.

"Playing with genuinely skilled musicians like these guys has been so rewarding because we really do make each other better," stated Zadoroznyj.

The band's travels this summer also led to some rewarding experiences for the group.

"Austin had the coolest music scene I've ever experienced," explained Patton.

The band mentioned that they found success with stragglers in the street passing by the open doors of their shows while on tour in Austin.

"6th street is lined up and down with bars and bands playing gigs," Patton continued. "People go there not knowing where they're going to wind up that night, which worked out well for us."

Now that half of the band members are back in school, with the other half graduated, they are making their mark on the local bar scene.

"The shows we play here get us noticed by students all over the country," said Zadoroznyj. "When we were on tour, those people saw that we were playing nearby and came out for the show."

The band hopes that their melting pot of a fan base will grow as they attempt to branch out to shows around the Bay Area.

"We want to play shows in San Francisco. Eventually, festivals would be ideal to play with some big name bands, but we need to get some exposure first," said senior Coury Jacob, the band's manager.

They will have their opportunity, as will anybody looking for gut-busting grooves, with upcoming shows on Nov. 14 at The Countdown and Nov. 18 at C&J's Sports Bar.

The band also has a scheduled show at Crow's Nest in Santa Cruz on Jan. 7.

Check out their music at www.myspace.com/theprojectbluebook.

Contact Aitor Zabalegui at azabalegui@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.