Set in Stone: Cal Poly band’s house shows shut down, but music lives on
Despite police shutting down their May 15th house show, Cal Poly band Set in Stone said they still plan to continue playing live shows.
The band formed during move-in week after freshman bass player Matt Jarman met his future bandmates through mutual friends and Greek life. After connecting over music and practicing in parking garages around campus, the group started playing live shows around San Luis Obispo.
For Jarman, house shows offer something larger venues cannot always recreate.
“Everybody loves being the first one in on something,” Jarman said. “House shows as a whole, especially college house shows, everybody’s there because they want to hear something new.”
The band’s first show took place on the hill behind the Fremont dorms at the Cal Poly P. What they expected to be a small crowd turned into around 300 people.
“It was such a surreal moment because it’s such a beautiful view too,” Jarman said. “There was an awesome sunset. The weather was perfect.”
Since then, Set in Stone has continued performing house shows across San Luis Obispo. Lead guitarist and freshmen switching his major to psychology Jonah described the band’s sound as a mix of indie rock, 90s grunge and jazz, while lead vocalist and guitarist Pierce Fanara, a sophomore communications major, said the group’s style is still developing.
“I’d say a little bit of an alternative mix in there,” Fanara said.
The band said house shows have also come with challenges. According to Jarman, they have had previous shows shut down outside of quiet hours.
“It was 2 p.m. on a Sunday and we got a $700 ticket,” he said.
“It’s kind of affected us, but we persist and find ways to do it,” Fanara added.
Even after their May 15 show was shut down, the band still plans to keep writing music, playing shows and expanding to other California coastal towns like San Diego and Santa Barbara.
The group hopes to play one more show below the Cal Poly “P” before the end of the year.
“We want to do one more hill show at the end of the year, just kind of as like a little bit of a send-off, as like a thank you to the campus for not ticketing us,” Jarman said.
The band released its first album, “The College Try,” on May 15 on Spotify.
