While most of the members of Westfield funk-rockers The Raft cite long-term instrument lessons or school programs as the beginning of their interest in music, the start of vocalist Patrick Hoynoski’s development is slightly more unorthodox.
“Once, when I was seven, my mother forced me to sing Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ in front of a group of her friends. It was the most traumatic experience of my life,” he says.
Fortunately Hoynoski emerged from the rest of his childhood relatively unscathed, and when he met up with future bandmates Alex Drenga (guitar), Chris Robie (bass) and Dan Holmes (drums) at Westfield State University in 2008, the seeds of The Raft were quickly sown.
Taking its name from a Buddhist quote that reads, “My teachings should be like a raft: used to cross the river but then abandoned at shore,” the band officially completed its current lineup in February of 2010 with the addition of Emily Duff (saxophone) and Jimmy Robitaille (percussion).
Though the group originally featured a more rock-oriented sound, several members participated in a West African drumming class at WSU run by This World Music founder Jeremy Cohen and became eager to incorporate different rhythms into the band’s material.
“The course moved Holmes so much he decided to go with Cohen on a study abroad trip to the country of Ghana in the summer of 2010,” says Drenga. “The trip and the course have played a great part in forming The Raft’s rhythmically intense sound.”
In fact, since Holmes’ return, the band has occasionally even abandoned stringed instruments altogether during shows and performed instead as a West African-influenced drumming group.
Though they have fun playing gigs and creating music for an audience, the members of The Raft say the life of a professional musician doesn’t always translate into an effective way of paying the bills. Drenga acknowledges that, with the economy in its current condition, the decisions made by The Raft aren’t necessarily in step with the times.
He says, “The ultimate goal for The Raft is to create music that we love and that people love. It is our dream to support ourselves through our music. Trying to be a working musician in these times isn’t necessarily the most practical way to make a living, but we are going to try.”
“We want to move people physically and emotionally,” he continues, “while maintaining the perspective that music is just that—music.”
To help accomplish their goals, Drenga and company recently completed the recording of their first album at Zing Studios in Westfield with producer Eric Arena.
Drenga says, “It will be a full-length CD and we will release it on iTunes and other music distribution sites on March 13. We have spent over a year on it, so we are very excited, but we also have a ton of new material we hope to bring to a studio in the future. We hope that the release of our CD, hard work, and vast promotion will open up new avenues and positive progress throughout 2012.”
The Raft performs March 9, 10 p.m. at Northampton’s Iron Horse. For more, visit www.theraftmusic.com.
