Parachute Lands into the Ears of Students

September 9, 2009

Parachute performed Tuesday at noon in the Varsity and the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. Students gathered to watch the band sing three of their most popular songs. (PHOTO BY EMILY KOGAN/THE DAILY MUSTANG)

by Elysse Carpenter
elcarpente@mail.smu.edu

On a seemingly normal Tuesday in the Hughes Trigg Varsity, the chart-topping rock band Parachute happened to be playing a few of their songs from their new album, Losing Sleep.

Thanks to SMU’s Program Council, the Varsity was morphed into a coffee shop complete with a small stage for the five band mates from Charlottesville, Virginia.

Parachute’s unique, upbeat tracks on their debut CD are perfect for long road trips and nice days. After listening to just a few minutes of their first song, I was hooked. Their songs are relatable and immediately put you in a good mood.

Not only is their music easy to like and listen to, the guys themselves are, too. Though they are newly recognized for their hit single “She is Love”, Alex Hargrave, Will Anderson, Nate McFarland, Kit French and John Stubblefield have been creating Parachute since 2001. They haven’t always been hitting good notes though. “We played in the battle of the bands in high school and lost pretty quickly,” said drummer John Stubblefield.

Anderson, French the keyboardist, Hargrave the bassist and Stubblefield have been playing together since tenth grade. However, they added one more when lead singer/songwriter and guitarist Anderson recruited another guitarist, McFarland, while they were in college at the University of Virginia.

The band gets their musical inspiration from others like Dave Matthews Band and Weezer. Though they said they are slightly better from when they started in tenth grade, for the long term, “Our plans are to keep playing shows and keep making albums.” Gracing a cover of Rolling Stone magazine is also an aspiration of the band.

On Tuesday night, they left the Hilltop and headed downtown to perform at the House of Blues. They are just kicking off their tour this month, opening for Secondhand Serenade, and will be performing regularly on tour until December.

Their website is a great way to check out the band and listen to their songs and music videos before deciding if you like them. You can also check out their updates on Twitter and become a fan of the band on Facebook. Keep listening because Parachute will definitely be on the rise and landing onto more radio waves within the year.