Vetta Star

           When you think of University of Denver, the first thing that comes to mind is most likely music.  Four DU students fit that subject perfectly after merging two DU bands to form Vetta Star.  With singer and pianist Joey Genetti, guitarists Paul Edelman and Charlie Fitz, bassist Eli Acosta, and singer and drummer Brandon Meagher the band has “made more progress in Vetta Star than in any other band,” says Meagher.  In the beginning, the band may have had the right material and talent, but the one thing they lacked was a name.  After playing many gigs without a name, the band finally decided to be known as Vetta Star.  “One day I was playing with words and really liked the look of the word Vetta,” shares Meagher.  “I’m Italian, so the word Vetta fit well,” Genetti adds. 

            Vetta Star did not go into the music business unexperienced, however.  All the members of the band have been playing music since they were young.  Edelman has been playing guitar for about ten years now, Genetti started playing piano in 3^rd grade and joined a rock band in 5^th grade, and Meagher has been playing drums since 3^rd grade.  Fitz finishes by telling us that he’s “played clarinet since 5^th grade and I started playing guitar in my later years of high school.”

            Musicians tend to have a reason to write songs and must decide what they want people to think or feel when they hear their music.  The response of “butterflies and cotton candy” was instantly shouted out by Genetti in a joking voice.  After a bit of thought, however, Genetti came up with what he really wants Vetta Star’s songs to share.  “I want people to be able to relate to our music and have it take them through a world of feelings,” Genetti explains.  “All songs tell a story and I think every story has a deeper meaning.  A song can mean a couple different things to a different few people.”

            With the idea of being relatable storytellers, the band recorded their most recent EP that Genetti tells us is self-titled.  The EP is “really related to the way the band started.  We took three songs from each of the previous two bands and remixed them to fit together,” Meagher explains.  But even with a possible bias towards a member’s previous band, the musicians had trouble choosing their favorite songs from the EP.  “I personally don’t have a favorite.  I love them all,” Genetti shares.  “I get to do a lot of different things on each song.  I play drums and tambourine on “Painted in the Sky” and I play guitar on “Dreaded Thought.””  “I personally love “Breath” and “Painted in the Sky,”” Meagher follows.  “The tone, reverb, and vocals on those songs are cool.”  But what inspired some of these songs?  After much thought, Meagher decided to explain the backstory from the song “Dreaded Thought.”  “Sophomore year was tough in college.  I remember returning home during break and my dad didn’t understand why I was in school for music, so I wrote a song about how my parents didn’t understand what I was doing.”

            Every band has a favorite show and many crazy memories.  To start off, Edelman tells us that the bands favorite show was probably their CD release.  “So many people came and we weren’t playing covers anymore.  It was our own music,” Fitz explains.  One of the band’s memories actually ties into one of their most recent shows.  “We were playing a gig at a fraternity house and we were covering the song “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads.  There was nothing dividing the band from the people in the audience and a guy slammed his hand onto my keyboard and knocked it off the stage.  I just kind of kept singing like nothing happened.  It was definitely a new experience for me,” Genetti shares.  Luckily, the piano was unharmed, but this is definitely a crazy memory that sticks out in Genetti’s mind. 

            With the entire band finally out of college, can fans expect Vetta Star to continue putting out new music and scheduling performances?  “Oh ya!” Fitz answers. “It will be a bit different without school, but we will be able to focus more on the band.”  This question ultimately led to the question of what would happen if the band failed.  “Everyone has their own weird habits outside of music,” Fitz shares.  “Joey just loves Jet Skis.”  “They are so cool!” Genetti comments.  “They are like the poor man’s Ferrari.  It’s a thrill ride and you’ve got no seat belt!”  It’s also shared that Edelman would want to be a sports announcer or try for the MLA.  “I want to move to Mexico and try to start my own American football team,” Edelman adds to his previous ideas.

            Vetta Star will be playing a show at the Gothic Theater on July 20, so be sure you don’t miss out on an amazing concert.  For more information and to get a taste of their music, visit the band’s website at http://vettastar.com/.