This is an installment of the Artgus Artist Spotlight, an ongoing series presented by the Arts & Culture Section, intended to highlight the artistic talents of the wider Wesleyan community. To nominate a student artist or group, email argus@wesleyan.edu. 

Last week, The Argus sat down with Velvet Cascade, winners of this year’s Wesleyan’s Got Talent. Velvet Cascade is a newly-formed band composed of Megan Athey ’28 (Trumpet), Cosmo Franseth ’28 (Bass), Aliciana Harvey-Lopez ’28 (Vocals), Michael Laterza ’28 (Guitar), Jack Pagano ’28 (Trombone), and Charles Pasca ’28 (Drums). Velvet Cascade shared the story of the unique founding of the band, their journey to winning the talent show, and the future of the group.

The Argus: What inspired you all to form the band? 

Charles Pasca: So there’s a Wesleyan class of 2028 group chat on Instagram, and from that, a Discord server was created. Someone in that Discord server was like, “Yo, they’re doing a talent show, someone form a band with me.” And then I think it was me, Megan, Aliciana, and Cosmo initially who were like, I play drums, I play trumpet, etc. I created a chat with everyone being like, “Hey, do we actually want to do this?” And then everyone was like, “Yeah, we should totally do this.”

Later along, someone reached out to me from Long Island and was like, “I have this band with someone who plays guitar and is an incoming freshman at Wesleyan, you should play with him.” So then I got Mike’s contact information and he also wanted in.

We went to our first practice here on day two of orientation. We were practicing in the Westco Lounge and then Jack saw us.

Jack Pagano: Yeah, I was walking back to my dorm, and I looked up and saw this dancing and singing. I [walked] into the lounge, and they’re playing “Valerie.” I played in a band professionally in D.C. where we did “Valerie,” so I knew this track. I [said], “Guys, I play trombone and know ‘Valerie,’ you want me to hop on?” They were like “Sure, why not?” so I walked to my room, got my trombone, and joined the band. It was so spur of the moment, but very amazing. 

Cosmo Franseth: It’s a crazy, strange coincidence. 

A: Why the name Velvet Cascade? 

Aliciana Harvey-Lopez: Part of our intro is that we are as smooth as velvet. So our music is as smooth as velvet. 

CF: Also because velvet is traditionally red, and we dress to the name. Our colors are red and black. We didn’t realize at the time that it was the same as Wesleyan. 

A: How would you all describe the band’s sound and style? 

CP: It still feels very up in the air, but we are definitely interested in mixing up our instrumental compositions. 

Megan Athey: We were trying to look for songs that have horns in them, and there are a limited number. The horns have a really unique element that makes us different from other bands in the area.

AHL: We are all from different areas, and we all have different music tastes and backgrounds as well. 

JP: [Another] thing about our style is that we are way more about giving the audience energy. We play songs that the audience will know and dance to because that is important to us. We want to make sure the audience is excited to move because that movement element is really important to our sound. 

A: Can you all talk more about the process leading up to the talent show? 

CP: So, we had to choose a song, and eventually “Valerie” came around. Once we locked in all the positions, “Valerie” felt pretty perfect. Most of us had played the song before too. 

AHL: I was scared for the performance because we did not know each other that well and had not played with each other for that long before we had to perform. 

CF: We did not have time to learn the song here, so we had to practice on our own before coming. We had to trust that everyone was doing their part. 

Michael Laterza: A lot of people really struggle with jamming with other people—like staying locked in with other people’s groove and rhythms—[but] we were almost surprisingly good. 

CF: We were [only] able to practice for two and a half hours before the performance. We didn’t have a lot of time and had to do it in gaps of the orientation. 

CP: Another big issue was the drums. Wesleyan emailed us that they could not provide a drum set, so we had to all come together to bring parts. The bass drum was especially hard because realistically none of us could keep it in our rooms. Cosmo ended up being able to supply an old wooden truck that we could use. 

A: How did it feel to win? 

CF: I honestly was not expecting to win. Wesleyan is insanely talented and everyone had amazing acts. 

JP: We played well, but also I feel like the fact that we got six people together and did a whole thing in this short period of time is maybe what got us that win. It was a moment where we were able to make music that people liked. That made the music itself sound better and made the band come so much closer together because we achieved something. 

A: What can we expect to see of Velvet Cascade in the future? 

MA: We have another song that we have prepared, and we’re working on a full set of music. It’s a work in process as we are still getting into the flow of things. 

CF: Once we get a good quantity of music, then we’ll perform. 

JP: Our current plan is that once we get a set list going, we’re gonna try to get together with other freshman bands and maybe have a set in WestCo [Cafe]. When we perform, we’re gonna throw down the house. So when that happens, posters will be up. Everyone better come. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

Maggie Smith can be reached at mssmith@wesleyan.edu.