By: Mark Moffa
HIGHTSTOWN – Alex James and Rob Swanekamp Jr. sat next to each other in computer class at The Peddie School. And in a way, that’s how it all got started.
"In between intense word processing projects, we went on the Internet," Mr. Swanekamp said.
"I used to sit and surf on the Web and find all these music sites with guitar tablature," Mr. James said.
You see, when Rob Swanekamp Jr. was in third grade at the St. Gregory the Great School in Hamilton Square, his parents encouraged him to learn how to play an instrument.
"I picked the guitar, being a child of MTV," Mr. Swanekamp said.
But little did he know he would develop an interest in music that would lead him to create a compact disc with three friends 11 years later.
The band is called Pitmonster. The musicians Mr. Swanekamp, Alex James, Ted Harbourt, and Zak Johnson all are from Allentown.
This summer, the band released its first CD, titled "Who Do You Want Me To Eat It?" Since then, they’ve played at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., and have a show scheduled for Mr. James’ school, Connecticut College, this Saturday.
Mr. James and Mr. Swanekamp started a band shortly after meeting a few years ago at Peddie School. That band didn’t last long, but Mr. James and Mr. Swanekamp weren’t discouraged by their failure.
"Alex and I decided to start another band, having tasted rock ‘n’ roll," Mr. Swanekamp said.
Mr. James, who still was friends with Mr. Harbourt, knew that Mr. Harbourt (who was attending Allentown High School) had just started to play guitar.
The three got a new band together with a friend.
"I couldn’t put the guitar down," Mr. Harbourt said.
Mr. James started playing bass with a borrowed bass and a guitar amplifier.
The third drummer to play with the group, Mr. Johnson, joined the band last year. One year older than the other three, Mr. Johnson was friends with Mr. Harbourt during their time at Allentown High School.
His father was a drummer in the 1960s, and according to the rest of the group, Mr. Johnson is an extremely talented musician who used to play bass, guitar and keyboards for a local band named Hocatomb.
All four can play guitar and sing. Mr. James is the only bass player, Mr. Swanekamp plays keyboard, Mr. Harbourt occasionally plays drums, and Mr. Johnson, who was unable to attend the interview session, is the main drummer, although he also plays some keyboard.
They thought their band was good, and their first vindication came in the Spring of 1999 when Pitmonster beat nine other bands in Peddie’s Battle of the Bands competition.
They donated the $100 prize to charity although now that they’re in college, they could use the money.
Then, during the summer of 1999, before the three aspiring musicians went off to college, they took Pitmonster in a new direction. The group, which had been primarily covering classic rock songs, started writing its own music.
"It was definitely a transition from listening to our parents’ records," Mr. Harbourt said.
Mr. Johnson is a junior at Kutztown University, majoring in theater, creative writing and music.
The other three are all sophomores at their respective colleges. Mr. James, at Connecticut College, said he might major in English. Mr. Swanekamp is majoring in international relations and sociology at Tufts University, and Mr. Harbourt is a communication design and art major at Syracuse.
Although they still claim that classic rock groups like the Police, Led Zeppelin and U2 are the main influences, the group admits that its original material has a harder edge, akin to Weezer and Radio Head.
They recorded six songs in Mr. Harbourt’s garage with a four-track tape recorder, and ended up selling 300 copies of their tape for $3 apiece.
Pitmonster soon signed with Impala Records, a company run by a high school student.
"It’s not a traditional record label, it’s just a group of kids that helps kids play," Mr. Swanekamp said.
Impala helped Pitmonster get its music onto Napster and MP3.com, helped the band secure a show at a firehouse in Yardley, and most recently helped the group find a studio in which it could record more music.
And sure enough, after returning from college and writing new songs at a feverish pace, Pitmonster traveled to Dan’s House Studios in Bethlehem, Pa., last July to record its CD.
After a five-star review in The Connecticut College Voice, the band is flying high and is excited about its future prospects, despite the huge hurdle of arranging shows with everyone so far away from each other.
"We are definitely looking for a (major) record label," Mr. Harbourt said. The band is itching to be signed and to climb out of its current debt.
They’re selling CDs for $8 each at their shows, and have sold about 200 so far. Their music ranges from humorous songs, which tend to be about childhood experiences, to more serious pieces, which, the group admits, are usually about girls.
As Pitmonster continues its attempts to gain exposure in the college circuit, who knows what lies ahead for this talented band?
Maybe one day local residents will be able to turn on the radio, hear Pitmonster, and say "Hey, that band’s from my town."
Mr. James, Mr. Swanekamp, Mr. Harbourt and Mr. Johnson certainly would be pleased.
