USC alumni take steps into music world

Street Fighter II. Gamma Epsilon Omega. Spinning records. Though these things have seemingly nothing in common, they mesh to form the background story of up-and-coming band DDL Roundhouse.

A force to be reckoned with - Members of DDL Roundhouse show that having a multi-instrumental, multi-talented band only gives their musical work a defining complexity and an original personality. - Photo courtesy of DDL Roundhouse

For all you Street Fighter fanatics, yes, the band is named after the technically advanced hurricane kick in the game. But the band focuses not on creating music to match the classically violent arcade game but  on creating suave sounds that stream from speakers in a slur of trumpet notes and slick rhymes.

Rewind to the wonder years at USC, the sun bright in the sky and cars cruising by the house of Gamma Epsilon Omega. Inside the house, members of the fraternity held the first practices of what would later become a solid band. Mix in a family member and students from other universities in the Southern California area and you get the beginnings of DDL Roundhouse.

For band manager and disc jockey Barry Fernando, forming the band came naturally. Fernando’s DJ roots began in high school and continued through his admission to USC as an economics major, where he towed his DJ equipment to his new fraternity home.

Soon enough, other musicians joined Fernando and his talented scratching. Hang outs turned into jam sessions, and it was clear what the future would hold.

“The original guitarist, Justin, said ‘Why don’t we all just start a band?’” Fernando said.

Thus began the journey. The band formed with only a few members, and soon expanded to become a multi person, multi-instrumental, group.

With vocals from Chris Cruz, Mike Daniszewski and Erika Jaye, the band mixes clever and straightforward lyrics with the musical talents of Fernando, Rob Abergas (drums), Jason Agpalo (keyboard), Kris Musni (vocals/bass), Alex Messano (guitar) and Taylor Wheeldin (trumpet).

The band members also keep it authentic and close to home. Their most recent video for their track “Martini,” directed by USC film school alumni Derek Mio and Sheldon Schwartz, starts with a close-up of a man, the metal harshness of a subway train approaching him. The honey voice of Jaye starts off the song with the bouncing notes of the keyboard and the sly sound of the trumpet.

The video cuts to shots of the landmark Staples Center and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Fernando’s spins come in with the rapper’s deep voice. The scene changes to people laughing without restraint, simple as can be.

Simple seems to be the vibe of the band. The members do not attempt to glitter themselves up or adopt alternate personas but instead use the purest sounds of their instruments. Listeners get a sense that the band believes only in the power of its vocals to soothe its listeners with a smooth tune.

Though many fans may see DDL’s various music styles as a recipe for chaos and stress, for Fernando, it’s one of the things of which he’s most proud.

“We all clash a lot in the studio,” he said. “No one wants to back down and that’s kinda where our sound comes from. That’s probably our strength as a band.”

As with any band, each member comes with their own musical history and opinions. Rapper and real estate finance major Daniszewski’s mother remembers a family party where the budding rapper grasped the microphone and dropped a rhyme about buying Pantene Pro-V at the supermarket. The rest fell into place.

“It took about a year of just meeting up at the frat house and jamming out and really learning how to play our instruments, including rapping,” Daniszewski said. “We didn’t know how to make a song by any means. Before we knew it, we had three.”

DDL Roundhouses possesses a knack for melding instruments and voices, with no band member outshining the other but instead working as a team to create a cohesive track that incorporates each member’s personality.

“I’m what I like to call a punch-line rapper,” Daniszewski said. “I just make people laugh and smile.”

Unlike most young musicians struggling to attain fame and fortune, Fernando and company truly enjoy what they do.

“We like to get our music heard by as many people as possible, and if it takes a major label, then that’s OK. But most importantly we want to stay true to our music” Fernando said.

With its own website, a full-length CD already released and another in the works, this unique band’s career is only starting to take flight.

“Some people have careers, some are really putting a lot into this band … but all of us go in there knowing it’s going to be a release from everything we’re doing,” Daniszewski said.

Even for listeners shackled to their favorite genre, the smooth voice of Jaye mixed with rap and rhythm cannot help but turn some heads. After all, the band does not self-impose a genre, choosing instead to incorporate all the influences of its members, ranging from funk to rock. Their new album, Connect, is now available on iTunes and was recorded out of Fernando’s studio in his Los Angeles apartment.

“We sold 5,000 copies off the bat,” Fernando said.

With practices once or twice a week and a couple of shows each month, the members hope to one day say goodbye to their day jobs and play music full time. Their journey helps to showcase the road from an idea to the formation of a full-fledged band.

DDL’s blooming career also gives inspiration to USC students, whether creating beats in a rehearsal room, writing the lyrics to a first song, or mixing the notes of a guitar to someone else’s voice. Passion is only the beginning.

Correction: An earlier version of this article mis-attributed three quotes to Barry Fernando when they were actually from Mike Daniszewski. The Daily Trojan apologizes for this error.