Blue Camp Rocks Plymouth Campus

Thursday, March 11, PACE presented Blue Camp in the Fireplace Lounge, a new group on campus who played only their second show together. Kellen Rattigan on guitar and vocals, Tim Messina on keyboard, Tye Seastedt on drums, and Dan Flynn on bass, joined talents recently to create the original sound of Blue Camp. Officially, the group has been together three months and have only opened for ZOX. However, there is a history of friendship among the band that runs far longer than this group effort. Rattigan and Messina met in high school and played together in their senior year talent show. Following that experience, the two dreamed of getting a band together and spent much time choosing other members. After many line-up changes, Rattigan finally introduced drummer Seastedt into the picture, who was a member of Rattigan and Messina’s church and attend Plymouth State University. Bassist Flynn has played for the band temporarily but will be departing from Blue Camp for other musical pursuits. “He is a talented kid and is in high demand and there is only so much one person can do.” said Messina. Blue Camp love playing together over all other group experiences and understand how to work individually and as a group. Messina believes being in a band will not work unless everyone is friends outside of the music, and stated that, “When you learn who each other are then the music that you play with each other makes more sense.” Inspired by groups such as Guster, O.A.R., Dave Matthews Band, and Dispatch, Blue Camp has a unique, fun, jam band sound that penetrates the ears of all who listen. “I can not quite describe why they are such a big influence, I guess we just enjoy their music and it makes us want to play,” said Messina. However, each member has their own personal influence. For instance, Seastedt is influenced by drummer Buddy Rich, who was, “not a very nice guy, but a very aggressive and good drummer.” Although Blue Camp is not a jazz band, Seastedt takes the style of Rich and other drummers and creates his own personal rhythm for Blue Camp. Blue Camp’s talent far extends the amount of years the members of the band held their own instruments together. Rattigan has only been playing the guitar since freshman year of high school. Similarly, Seastedt, who has played the percussion since fourth grade, only switched to a whole drum set in freshman year of high school. Messina has the most experience on the keyboard; with a father who is an extremely talented pianist, Messina learned to play at the early age of three years old. But together, they create a natural and uplifting sound with songs that are simple, even in their titles. For example, the song “D7” is named for the D7 chord the song is written in. Another song, called “Capo Song,” is named mainly for Rattigan’s use of a capo on his guitar. One song that the band is proud of and the audience adored, “Butterflies,” is a more thought out title and song meeting someone and the indescribable feeling that arises in your stomach. Blue Camp has a natural presence on stage and the ability to get the crowd moving. Everyone who watched the show Thursday night walked away with smiles on their face and nothing but good things to say about the band. Although PSU is still waiting for Blue Camp’s next performance to be scheduled, the audience will definitely be waiting to hear from them again.