Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Swarthmore’s Free Culture group, in a move to assist campus projects such as recording the performances of student musicians, has obtained funding from the SBC to purchase a recorder for Olde Club and pay sound engineers for recording projects. The recorder system is scheduled to be set up by Spring Break.
Until now, performances in Olde Club have not been recorded. Olde Club does have much of the necessary equipment for recording; however, the equipment is outdated and the new recorder will allow for recording both Swarthmore groups and visiting bands.
Ben Mazer ’10 who led Free Culture’s move to get a recorder in Olde Club explained via an electronic interview that these changes would give all bands performing in Olde Club the option of being “recorded and re-broadcasted (with band permission,)” in addition to the possibility of “personal recording sessions to create albums.”
Mazer is excited about the project’s success, noting that Olde Club should be holding a show in April that will be distributed campus-wide and that this is only the first of Free Culture’s music projects for the semester. Mazer encourages anyone interested in assisting in projects such as an exhibit on free online music or making recordings of performances in Lang Concert Hall more accessible to contact him.