On Tuesday, SEB hosted an open mic night where students could come sing and perform for their fellow classmates. This event was special, though, since it opened with a “Teeny Desk Concert” performed by a student band called 2 Wagon Band. 

“Tuesday Takeovers” is hosted every week by WSU’s Student Entertainment Board in the CUB’s ground-floor lounge and reunion area. Each week the board hosts an activity open to all students, who are welcome to participate and attend. The events range from game nights, trivia, karaoke and open mic nights. This one began with some fresh entertainment. 

First-year biochemistry major Joseph Caserta had the idea to start 2 Wagon Band. Caserta volunteers with SEB and noticed during the first few open mic nights that there were not many performers, so he took it upon himself. He later asked his roommate, Hoku Kawasugi, a first-year music education major, if he wanted to perform a song together for the event.

Soon after he ran into some of his other friends—Maggie Wyrick, Michael Culbertson and Silas Newton—and brought up that he and Kawasugi would be performing, the friends decided to participate too. That was the beginning of the band.

“Coming up with a name is really hard, it feels very final, because once that’s your name, you’re just stuck,” Caserta said. “We have to take two wagons around for all of our stuff, music gear, speakers, drum kit. So we’re just the 2 Wagon Band now because it takes two wagons to take all our stuff around.” 

The band is currently performing covers but has branched into writing its own songs. Caserta and Kawasugi stated they have one song they wrote titled “Head Over Heels”. Most songs they perform are pop or pop-rock. 

“We have a wide variety of songs. Half of them tend to be upbeat and the other half tend to be calmer,” Kawasugi said. 

Caserta also noted the variety within the band. 

“Everyone in the band listens to a lot of different types of music, so we kinda just combine whatever we want,” he said.

They hope to continue to write their own songs and get them recorded and uploaded.

Caserta went on to discuss how finding the time to practice can sometimes be a bit of a challenge since all band members have a big academic load and are involved in extracurricular activities. 

“Every band member kinda agrees this is the most fun thing we do in college, period. So it’s a lot of fun. We’re all kind music people and everything we make goes right back into the band,” Caserta said. 

The band has done a few performances at several other open mic nights. They have started to advertise themselves more, expanded their set list and hope to perform off campus at other local events. 

“Being able to play music with other people is fun. Being able to connect that way, playing music alone is fun but it’s different when everyone contributes and we just get to vibe out,” Kawasugi said. 

He continued by sharing how it helps them all to develop as musicians when they play with other people.

“It’s very motivating. If you’re just practicing music for yourself a lot of times, you could end up jumping from song to song and not actually sticking with something. This makes it feel like you actually have something where you need to get your stuff together and you need to know this,” Caserta said. 

Joseph Caserta – plays guitar

Hoku Kawasugi – plays guitar and sings, occasionally percussion 

Maggie Wyrick – plays guitar and sings, as well as the mandolin and banjo 

Silas Newton – bass player

Michael Culbertson – drums and saxophone

2 Wagon Band can be found on both YouTube and Instagram.

For further information on SEB events, check out their Instagram.