BY LIANA KATZ

In print | Published October 30, 2008

The evening begins with fire. Dressed nonchalantly in tight jeans and large black glasses, Ethan Ward, also known as E-603, is struggling to unwrap his newly purchased computer mouse. A lighter is produced, plastic is burned and the mouse is liberated from its packaged prison. This is Ward’s triumphant return to Swarthmore after a raucous and hugely successful set of mash-ups at last year’s Worthstock. So far, things are going well.

Although his electronic tracks have recently enjoyed a wide circulation, Ward has not always been interested in laptops and digital pastiche. “We always had a piano in the house,” Ward said. Constantly trying to one-up his older brother, he learned to play a variety of instruments, including the drums and guitar.

Yet his exploration of electronic and mash-up music was a gradual one. Initially using only very small samples, Ward taught himself how to mix together songs to create a unique sound. Following in the footsteps of Girl Talk’s Greg Gillis, he now typically spends over 40 hours to produce a single track comprised of hard-hitting hip-hop, jangly pop and sharp guitar riffs. “It’s trial and error,” Ward said of his creative process. “It takes for-fucking-ever … I am always second guessing myself.”

Currently a second year student at Hampshire College in Massachusetts, Ward finds it understandably difficult to balance music and academics. “I put off all of my schoolwork as late as possible,” Ward said, adding that he once drove to Baltimore to play a show on a Thursday night and returned to Hampshire the next morning to take a 9 a.m. class.

Sleep deprivation aside, Ward values his college education and plans to pursue his passions outside of the music world; he hopes to one day make short films.

For the time being, Ward is content to juggle school and music, touring during vacations and on weekends. He has even found the time to release two mash-up albums, both of which can be downloaded for free on his website, e-603.com. “It’s weird that people actually like my music,” he said, musing on his experience at Pop Montreal, an annual Canadian music festival that has previously showcased up-and-coming bands such as Broken Social Scene and Vivian Girls.

Although Ward may seem a bit bashful when he speaks about his music, his show at Olde Club this past Saturday night proved that he has no reason to. Flanked by a trusty bottle of Olde English, Ward set up his laptop (sadly sans new mouse, which ultimately proved to be a bust) at the front of the stage and pounded out an unrelenting show that juxtaposed artists like Kanye West, Nirvana and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Despite a bout of drenching October rain, Swarthmore students came out in droves to dance and crowd-surf tirelessly to Ward’s tracks.

Although much of Ward’s music follows a similar pattern, what prevented the show from becoming another orgy of repetitive bump-and-grind was the fact that mash-up demands listeners to challenge their musical assumptions.

Under Ward’s deft command, “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Smells Like Teen Spirit” became hot dance tunes. Similarly, club favorite “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” was amplified to the maximum when blended with other powerful hip-hop hooks. Furthermore, each track that Ward sampled elicited a visceral response from the audience as they recalled memories of grooving to Destiny’s Child at a middle school dance or weeping to The Verve. The experience of hearing such standard artists blended together bordered on the surreal. It’s like “sparking memorabilia in your head,” Ward said.

By the end of the night, Olde Club was packed from basement to ceiling. Ward was surrounded on all sides by sweaty students who surged along with the beat as it rocked the building. There was not an inch of space not draped with bodies (even the windows and radiators saw some action). If Ward can carry a party to such heights even on a rainy night, here’s hoping he decides to forego his other passions and stick with a career in music.

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