With Ithaca College hosting more than several student bands, Life on Vibrant distinguishes itself with its unique genre, self-characterized as “indie eruption.” The band has four members, including sophomores Carson Mroz, the lead singer, Ashlynn Rose on lead guitar, George Bailey on drums and first-year student Jake Edelstein on bass guitar. The band manages to blend the unique tastes of all the members, resulting in an artistic flair that resonates with audiences across the campus.
Newsletter Editor Jacquelyn Reaves spoke with lead guitarist Rose to learn more about how Life on Vibrant was formed, the group dynamics within the band, music inspirations within the group and performances the group has coming up.
This article has been edited for length and clarity:
Jacquelyn Reaves: How was Life on Vibrant formed?
Ashlynn Rose: I came into the band after they had already formed. On me coming into the band and us making something of ourselves was the spring semester of [2023]. We were all freshmen and I was invited by Carson Mroz to play with some friends he had been playing with. I come in and play a couple of Weezer covers that I had learned that night. I came in that afternoon and it was kind of set from there. When I came into their practice room at the time, I had no idea what to expect in terms of how they wrote music and who most of these guys even were. We also kind of wrote our first song during that time. I just remember starting on a simple riff, the riff that inevitably kicks off “Live on the Moon” into this fast yet chill son-of-a gun jam. A song like that, it’s the pinnacle of our band. It’s airy. [It’s] Life on Vibrant. That song is in D major, I believe. And we’re lifting it as the song goes. I guess what it’s about is, it’s about us. It’s our best song. We play it to end sets frequently. We played it to begin our set at Deep Dive a couple weeks ago. Very cool.
JR: What inspired you to join the band?
AR: I was friends with Carson. All of [the members of the band] currently right now are cinema production majors. Me and Carson were in [Cinema Production 1] class together. We were both musicians. I noticed the stickers on his laptop were bands that I liked. I just went up and talked to him, exchanged social media and we just started chatting and then [Life on Vibrant’s] guitarist left. They couldn’t find a guitarist to stay in the band. I was playing guitar around Ithaca and was looking for a group to play with; it was a match made.
JR: What does the songwriting process look like for your band?
AR: Honestly, we get food and go to our studio. One of us usually is like, “Oh, what’s something you guys have been writing?” Or if none of us have been writing anything — the song that I was talking about earlier, it’s called “Live on the Moon“ and that was my first band practice with them. We wrote that song and it was just me fiddling around. We were in half-step down tuning and I was just fiddling around with two notes and it just became a song. I don’t know, it’s just kind of natural.
JR: What are some goals and aspirations you have for your band in the future?
AR: We’re working on possibly making an album. We want some music out there [and] currently we don’t have any. We have so many songs that we play and that we’ve written, and so it only makes sense to, you know, make it, you know, make it physical or digital nowadays. And honestly, just spreading the love or L.O.V.E. Our ability and desire to “spread love” is in the name: Life On Vibrant [LOV, without the “E”]. Through our music and performance, we long to get everyone dancing, vibing and just having a good damn time. That’s all it is. Self-expression and community. It’s all LOVE.
JR: How has being in a band influenced your personal growth and development?
AR: As a musician, it’s kind of difficult to grow just playing by yourself. I think it’s been listening to others and their opinions on the things that I write, being able to speak about the opinions that they [have]. Making something very cohesive that we’re all into. That’s just been big. Having that relationship with other people. And to be able to express myself whether it’d be onstage, my confidence has possibly risen, being in that stage presence and writing good music.
