By Sara Van Hoy

Many look down upon Dupre and consider it to be the worst dorm building on campus. After all, there are no sinks in its dorm rooms, the windows and showers are smaller, and its exercise room is a joke. However, within the walls of Dupre live many talented individuals who are no different than the rest of Macalester’s student body.
Some of these talented people have decided to bond together and form a band: DuProjects. “I think it’s kind of our way of collectively sticking our middle finger up the ass of quiet hours,” said vocalist Nick Mangigian ’10. Despite the name DuProjects, flutist Jeremy Meckler ’10 said, “We’re the crème inside the cupcake.”

DuProjects is a group of Dupre residents gathered together by Federico Segura ’10. They have 10 members who play a wide variety of instruments ranging from violin to trombone to bass guitar. Segura said the band is an “eclectic mix of a variety of styles,” and Mangigian said they are “a musical trailmix.”

Currently the band is in its initial stages, and they are working on five songs, all of which are covers. These range from Queen’s “Under Pressure” to The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” Even though there are only covers right now, originals should hopefully be coming soon.

In order to get the band going, all the musicians need is a little money. The group lacks amps, microphones, and drums, which is a bit problematic. They have decided to sell wristbands bearing the name DuProjects in a variety of colors to their fellow Dupre residents, posting sign-up sheets on each floor. Each wristband costs five dollars.

After the band gets some money, they will soon be on their way to holding a concert. Although the date and time of the first concert is still unknown, they hope to hold it in a place like 10k or even the Guthrie. DuProjects hopes to gain the support of all the dorms.

“We really want not just Dupre residents to support us, but we want to make it into a campus-wide thing. Initiatives like this are rare at Macalester, and they definitly require the support of the students,” said Segura.

Band Members:
Federico Segura-drums
Jeremy Meckler-flute and saxophone
Evans Brown-lead guitar
Kai Bosworth-bass guitar
Hannah Rivenburgh-violin
Ryan Becker-trombone
Jason Rodney-piano
Nick Mangigian-vocals
Ellie Jones-vocals
Evan Coles-Harris-manager/agent/roadie