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For some, fame is not everything.
“To become famous, I’m not willing to sacrifice much,” said Jonny Lin, a senior at Ohio State in chemical engineering. “To put on a good show, now that’s another story. Too many bands are obsessed with the money machine. If you put on a good show, you’ll reach people.”
Lin plays lead guitar and violin for the band The Theme. He balances school, research at Koffolt Laboratories and band practice, but is consumed with musical pursuits.
Lin said what makes the band unique is the mixture of styles.
“My singer, Westy, makes Weezer-esque songs,” he said. “My drummer has labeled me somewhere in the Incubus range. Basing yourself on one band is too limiting.”
When composing songs, Lin draws inspiration from external and internal sources. He listens to Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Mae, The Strokes, Stone Temple Pilots and The Mars Volta.
“I hear strains of music when I wake up in the morning. I’ll think, ‘Oh, that’s kind of cool,’ and I’ll figure it out and I’ll save it for later,” he said.
Another of The Theme’s strengths are its members’ terrific chemistry.
“If you don’t have good chemistry, even if you’ve got an amazing set of skillful solo artists, the musicality is going to be lacking,” he said. “It makes the entire experience that much more genuine, that much better.”
Having grown up in Copley, Ohio, a small town near Akron, Lin has been classically trained in piano and violin since the second grade.
“I really, really wanted to stop too, but my parents didn’t want all that money to go to waste and they made me keep going,” he said.
Lin made a deal with his mom: If he agreed to play with the Akron Youth Symphony for a year, he could choose to stop afterwards. Though playing with the symphony was an honor, Lin was destined for a different kind of ensemble and an entirely different instrument: guitar.
“I just picked it up one day and thought, ‘Wow, I really want to play this thing.'”
Lin’s childhood friend, Jenny, was the one who inspired him to play in a band. She swore to remind him of his ability and passion for music if he had not gone anywhere with chemical engineering within a few years. He said that when she called, “that was one of my biggest influences to begin working with the band really, really strenuously, with a lot of energy, a lot of resolve.”
The Theme’s lead vocalist and backup guitarist, “Westy” Westergaard, called Lin last summer to ask if he would consider starting a band together. Drummer Andrew Raber and bassist Ryan Tribuzi joined The Theme for their debut at a house party on East 12th Avenue and Summit Street.
Since then, the band has played locally at Scarlet & Grey Cafe and other house parties. Last Friday night they played at Lambdapalooza thrown by the fraternity brothers of Lambda Chi Alpha. There, they released two new songs, “The Flow” and “Summer of Infamy.” The Theme recorded Lin’s favorite song, “In this World,” for a sampler to be given out at their upcoming gigs. This and other demos are available on the band’s MySpace page, myspace.com/thethemeband.
On Friday, Jan. 25, The Theme will be headlining a concert at C.B.R.’s on Front Street. The show starts at 5 p.m. Tickets are $8. Admission at the door is $10.
Shelly Hansen can be reached at [email protected].
