AUC student bands rocking campus and local music scene
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Courtsey of Like Jelly |
Described as vibrant, lively, enthusiastic, humorous and talented, Like Jelly, the student band --- with four members from AUC --- has been captivating the local Cairo music scene for the last three years.
On April 2, Like Jelly is performing at the Sawy Culture Wheel.
“We have been waiting for this concert and we are very excited and eager to perform,” said Mustafa Tareq, the acoustic bass player and business administration junior at the American University in Cairo (AUC).
Three years ago, Tareq, also known as Moose, met business administration junior and lead guitarist Muhammed El Quessny (Moe) and political science senior YoussefAtwan, who plays rhythm guitar, at a workshop sponsored by CISV, an international non-governmental organization (NGO) that promotes peace education.
All three realized their common passion for music, which ultimately led to the formation of their band.
In the beginning, the band had no lead singer or drummer, until Shady Ahmed, a business and marketing senior at Misr International University (MIU) took over vocals and Sara Iskander, a journalism and mass communication sophomore at AUC, took over the drums. “Sara is one of the few female drummers that we really respect and love so much,” said Moose.
“We find it very hard to classify our music, but we can call it acoustic,” he added. “Our inspiration comes from artists like Dave Mathews Band, Jack Johnson, Bob Dylan, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, The Beatles, Dispatch and many other great artists.”
As a new band, Like Jelly started playing only covers or songs that belong to other artists. Later, they wrote their first original song, Peace in the Bay, which is about “the beautiful and magnificent Sinai,” according to Moe, who added that the song took shape while they were staying in Nuweiba.
“All our music and songs are inspired by Egypt,” said Atwan. Their songs include Bedouin Sun, Shee ya Homar (Go Donkey), Cairo Baby, I Don’t Have a Girlfriend and Stars of Aggression. “We are addressing [several] issues and we are very happy it is about our own country and our love for it,” he added.
“Our music pierces your sternum… it’s so strong it gets to our fans and anyone can relate to it,” said Moe. According to Atwan, no one in Egypt is playing the type of music that they play.
All members agreed that the most important things to them are friendship, their love for music and how much fun they have hanging around each other playing music and doing the things they love.
When asked about how they came up with the name Like Jelly, Moe explained, “our music floats into your ears like the jelly flows into your mouth.”
Like Jelly had successful performances throughout the past three years at Cairo International Model United Nations (CIMUN) openings at AUC, and at the Cairo University dome as well as the Sawy Culture Wheel.
“I think they have a very unique acoustic style. I love their originals,” said Dina Samra, a journalism and mass communication sophomore at AUC, adding that their songs are very different and their lyrics are funny and interesting.
“They have a lot of potential and they have improved a lot in the last year,” said Kareem El Shaffei, accounting senior. Their shows are always cheerful and lively, he added.
“This band and this love could never have happened without our friends’ support,” said Moe.
In addition to Like Jelly, AUC has several other musicians and bands that are proving themselves locally.
Basel Dawoud, a mechanical engineering senior at AUC, plays the bass guitar in the band EGOZ with three non-Aucians: Hani Mustafa, lead singer; Marwan El Menawy and Moustafa Farid, guitarists.
It is a rock band, Dawoud said, and they perform their own originals. Some of their songs are Waiting, Sorry and Temple of Small Things.
Throughout the years, EGOZ has performed at the Sawy Culture Wheel, Dream Park, Ocean Bay Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh and on the Dance for Life show.
When asked about their future plans, Dawoud said, “Making our own first demo is the most important thing for the band now,” noting that it will be out in the next few weeks.
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