KIERA SCHOLTEN
Living Assistant
Pepperdine students have a unique talent set. From athletic ability to oration skills, there’s probably a rising star in one form or another sitting in that desk nearby. But not many can say they spent their summer recording an actual album.
Junior Jack Thomason, lead singer of “June’s Descent,” produced his band’s debut album, “Page 1,” this past summer.He calls the experience a “grueling two months recording, mixing, finalizing, designing and waiting … (It was created with) all our own equipment and skill. No professional help.”
Though the band members are separated at different schools, Thomason said they continue to work on new music and plans for the future.
His passion for sharing music with others extends to the Pepperdine campus: Among other worship gatherings, he will lead worship for a weekly Bible study at President Andrew K. Benton’s house on Sunday evenings.
How did your band get started?
It’s a complicated story. Me and three other friends formed the band in high school. Over time, the group changed up and now it’s just a three-member band — Kurt Lammers, Keith Yoder and me on base, guitar, drums and vocals. We completed 11 original compositions and recorded them for our first album, “Page 1.”
When does your band practice?
We spent most of the summer working on our album giving 110 percent.
What’s the origin of the name of the band?
The name of the band actually has no meaning at all. We’ve had a variety of names in the past, including The Quad, The Mediterranean Swimmers and The Guy a Street Over, Skoobs, The Scopes Monkey Trial and ultimately June’s Descent. The story goes that after many hours of pouring through dictionaries, I said, “Guys, what about Descent?’ And Brooks just blurts out, “JUUUUNE’S!” So we put the two together.
What are your plans for the future?
We have a few connections on professional levels … who are listening to our newly recorded CD. Hopefully some professional recording time will come out of that, but in the meantime, we’re continually writing and discussing future touring options.
What are your goals for your band?
My ultimate goal is to tour the United States, maybe even the world, but I don’t really want to be famous. I just want to make really good music.
What are you doing at school?
I led a few worship gatherings and write instrumentals and lyrics throughout my time at Pepperdine. Mostly I just try to do well in my classes, stay on top of things and enjoy my short time here. I greatly enjoy Pepperdine and Malibu. The people are amazing, as well as the location, but any year on the Malibu campus will be hard to top the year I just spent in Florence, Italy.
09-08-2005
