Standing Room Only: Anish Ghosh and Studio89 fill The Garden
By Nat Bono
Photos by Shelby Rodger
Bitter winds whipped the streets of Syracuse last Saturday night, but the squalls of snow never weakened the persistence of SU students. The Garden’s basement was decked out with a grass wall and colored lights, and it flooded with students coming to see Anish Ghosh and Studio89.
I caught up with Ghosh as they were gearing up for their second show at The Garden. Working with founders Jen Jordan, Lauren Brennen, and Ken Barrist has been a great experience, Ghosh said.
“They originally asked me to play for the first show, so I put everything together and they were just so nice to me and gave good feedback,” they said.
A mixture of indie pop and rock, their music plays with voice effects and autotune, creating a distorted sound against the bass-heavy mix. Playing mostly originals, they came out of their shell as the night went on - their shy personality charming the crowd.
While writing songs, Ghosh takes a few different approaches.
“I grew up playing drums and bass, so I usually start there and build upward if I’m making a rock or hip-hop song,” they said. “But if I’m making something more internal, I’ll start with the lyrics and the chords on acoustic guitar and build it out from there.”
Bringing on Tamara for their final song, the two riffed on their collaboration track, “Recovery.”
The basement was filled to capacity by the start of Studio89’s set. Their funk-rock sound took over the crowd with high energy. The band, started by Vir Batra (guitar/vocals) and Nick Beebower (drums/vocals), grew to four members two and a half months ago with the addition of Sam Parrish (vocals/bass) and Jesse Herman (guitar). All four are sophomores at SU, studying within the Bandier program.
Studio89’s sound draws from 90’s punk rock, with 70’s influencing the guitar riffs and settings. Most of the originals played were written by Batra and Beebower, but they have been coming together and writing as a band during jam sessions.
“The cool part about this band is everybody sings, everybody writes, so everybody has something to bring to the table every time we meet,” said Beebower.
Playing mostly covers, Batra introduced one song as “a TikTok song,” and proceeded to play The Rare Occasion’s “Notion,” as the audience belted along. Their set lifted the energy in the room, ending the night on a high note with “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure.
The cold wind greeted us all as we left the crowded basement at the end of the night, but our minds were already warm and ready for the next show at The Garden on Friday, March 4.