Alumni compose new Coliseum theme
The song was performed at the halftime show Oct. 21 by USC students and alumni.
By DANIELLE JONES
Music brings people together. In a community with deep roots and collaborations, a song can go a long way in proudly meshing together history and spirit. “We Came to Bring the Fire” by Ella Collier, a graduate of popular music with an emphasis in songwriting, and Sam Vendig, a graduate who majored in music industry, is a rallying cry for the community to gather under hope and optimism for the next century as it celebrates Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum’s 100th anniversary.
As a globally recognized venue and monument representing sporting, cultural, military and entertainment events, the Coliseum is an integral part of USC’s genes as well as the site of every home football game. This year, the Coliseum collaborated with the Thornton School of Music to commemorate the milestone by performing a song dedicated to the stadium at the Oct. 21 football game.
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Seven teams of recent USC alumni were presented with the opportunity to submit an original theme song capturing the ethos of the occasion. The winning song was “We Came To Bring the Fire,” written and composed by Collier and Vendig.
“It was fun for us because we’ve been making a lot of music together beforehand, like for my EP,” Collier said. “We brought our sound into the song which [was] really exciting … because it feels really true to us too.”
Vendig said the production style of “We Came To Bring the Fire” was similar to Collier’s recently released EP, “Second Arrow,” in terms of synth and effects choices. The only difference was delving into the symbolism around the Coliseum — such as the 1984 Olympics, iconic speakers and its dedication to L.A. County World War I veterans upon its completion — to convey the right energy.
“We did a lot of research, looking up the Coliseum’s history, looking at the timeline, all these important iconic moments that fed into what makes the Coliseum so important to Los Angeles,” Vendig said. “We fed them into what we were doing and tying together this past in the first verse, the present moment in the chorus and then the future in the second verse.”
Focused on a physically uplifting melody, the pair made the song with the intention of getting listeners to rise and sing along.
“Specifically for this, we started with a track because we knew that it had to feel good for it to be anthemic. So it has to, on a physical level, people have to be wanting to move to it a little bit,” Vendig said. “In pop, tracks are really important. Melodies are super important. We want people to be able to sing this [and] have it be catchy.”
“We Came To Bring the Fire” was created by USC alumni Ella Collier and Sam Vendig. They were selected from seven teams of alumni who submitted their takes on the theme. (Tomoki Chien / Daily Trojan)
“We Came To Bring the Fire” contains the uniqueness of the Coliseum, USC and Los Angeles.
“I’m dramatic,” Collier said. “I love anthems. I love going big or going home. All my music is very anthemic and empowering to the listener and that came across in [the song] as well. It’s very empowering to the listener, but also empowering to USC as a whole.”
To replicate the unity of the lyrics, Collier and Vendig performed the song as a duet, with a keyboardist and small choir of current Thornton students backing them up. Tehillah Alphonso, a graduate who majored in popular music performance, created the choir arrangement and gathered the students for rehearsal and recording in a Burbank studio. The studio version is expected to be released on major streaming platforms Dec. 1. At the USC vs. Utah game, however, the singers had the Spirit of Troy Marching Band supporting them.
“I wasn’t expecting a lot of the players to be playing the melodies along with us too,” said choir member Maddi Lasker, a senior majoring in popular music performance. “I didn’t know how that would work, so singing a melody with [the] brass following you in the song was very cool and very new.”
Rehearsing with the marching band this past Friday was a first for Lasker and the other choir members. Used to weekly gigs with studio bands and jazz ensembles, performing with the marching band was an “intense” and empowering experience, Lasker said.
“It tells us a great story of the Coliseum, its legacy, where it’s come from and all the history behind it,” Lasker said. “So getting to sing it is actually very powerful. It’s very cool to be a part of something that has had so much history to it.”
Though “We Came To Bring the Fire” was performed at a football halftime show, Collier and Vendig emphasize that it’s not just a song paying homage to the Coliseum, representing more than sports. The Coliseum was and has also been a site of concerts, social justice movements and other gatherings intrinsic to L.A. The song is also dedicated to anyone that embodies the “Fight On” mindset.
“We’re looking forward to the next 100 years,” Collier said. “I feel like the song gives futuristic. It’s reminiscent of the history of the Coliseum, but it’s also bringing in a new flair [and] a new flame.”
