Auditions for 11th Compilation Album

Author: Rachel Disipio '20

Students from various majors made their way over to Woods Theatre last Wednesday, Sept. 11, where Monmouth University’s Music Industry III class held open auditions for aspiring artists and bands to be a part of Blue Hawk Record’s eleventh compilation album. 

This semester's auditions had one of the biggest turnouts to date, with almost 20 artists in attendance. So much talent came through the doors, but in the end, only 5 artists were chosen to be featured on the compilation album, on track to release December 6th. 

After extensive deliberation, the managers of this Blue Hawk Release hand-picked just five artists and bands who brought an abundance of musical talent and uniqueness to the table. A lot of young talent proved themselves during audition process. Jacke Tripp, Kristen Wilczewski, and band that call themselves Malibu, are all freshmen students at Monmouth University. The final two artists on the album are Junior Tim DiDomenico, and returning Blue Hawk veterans, The Nooks.

The Nooks will be recording their song, “Bulldog’s Cage” for Volume 11 once again at Lakehouse Recording Studios in Asbury Park. The studio is a state of the art facility that has worked with large names in the industry like Lorde and NJ natives, The Front Bottoms. Lead singer of The Nooks Amanda McTigue said, “We are so gracious for the opportunity to be a part of another Blue Hawk Records compilation album.” Olivia Rohlfs, a Senior who plays ukulele, bass, and provides backup vocals for the band, continued, “We plan to make the most out of this experience just as we did last year. It’s really going to be a great record.”

Guiding the Music Industry III class along with the album release is Department Chair, Joe Rapolla, who has taught the course a number of times since he began teaching at Monmouth University in 2013. “I have so many expectations for this Music Industry III class. My goal is for the students to apply what they learned and experienced last semester when we created our tenth compilation album Hang Ten and take it to a whole other level while innovating and incorporating new ideas. The music industry is always evolving, and it’s doing so in such a dynamic way. We take the information the industry gives us and integrate it into everything we do,” Rapolla said.

The industry class is busy preparing for the upcoming weeks filled with promotion, recording, and marketing. Blue Hawk Records plans on having several promotional shows throughout the semester in addition to an official album release show on December 6th in the Rebecca Stafford Student Center from 2:45-4:30! ​You won't want to miss this.