When Right Time Rocks, Good Times Roll
By 3:00 a.m. on Sunday mornings most of us are long since asleep. But should you find yourself still awake at this hour, you would not be alone. Sunday mornings at 3, one can usually find Josefina Bosch '79, Sam Bozeman '79, Mike Geilich '79, Mary Glaser Ph.D. '82, Eric Richardson '82, Neville T. Scott '82, and Mark Weltner '79 packing up after work. These alumni are neither late-night talk-show hosts nor doctors in training. They, along with Upper Valley residents Phil Carr and Emily Lanxner, cdnstitute the up-and-coming band Right Time, which has been described as "an interracial, interethnic band" that is "very concerned with politics."
Currently operating out of Boston, Right Time features a variety of musical fusions combining reggae, funk, rap music, carnival music from Trinidad, Latin rock 'n' roll, and sambas. Their recent debut album, RightTime, was hailed by The Boston Globe as "most impressive." Its opening song, "Hideaway," is an energetic reggae song that stresses that there is no hideaway from nuclear war. Another number, "50 Righteous in the City," is based on a Biblical quote about corruption.
Right Time's musicians have grown from small groups playing folk and acoustic music and more generally known Grateful Dead tunes into their current musical explorations. The band fuses not only musical styles but also musical skills. The rhythm section includes drums, percussion, bass, keyboards and guitar. Melody is provided by lead guitar, saxophone, flute, and steel drums. Add to that the range of six vocalists, and you can begin to imagine the endless variations Right Time can create. A recent Boston Globe review commented, "The band played so many fusions that half the fun was trying to sort them all out."
It is not just musically that Right Time features diversity. Band members hail from Argentina, Canada, Jamaica, and the U.S. Singer Josefina Bosch studied acting on a Reynolds Scholarship at London's prestigious Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Horns player Mike Geilich, who majored in philosophy and psychology, also holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the Thayer School. As undergrads, Mark Weltner, the group's only music major, and Tennessee native Sam Bozeman, a history major, regularly played bluegrass around the Dartmouth Percussionist Mary Glaser, a graduate and former trustee of Smith, taught math at Middlebury. Bass player Eric Richardson supplements his income as a computer software consultant.
Doing anything as a group of nine people is a challenge. All of the band's members help to write new material. "The germ of an idea is brought to a rehearsal and tossed around," comments Bozeman. "Then someone takes responsibility for the lyrics - it's hard to do that as a group. The rhythm section then meets to work on rhythm, etc." The end product is almost always a synthesis of everyone's input.
All of the band members speak positively of their commitment to this particular group of people and the cooperative aspects of what they are trying to do. Unlike most groups their size, they are self-managed, although booking is handled by Hilary Smith '78. The group chose to incorporate this past January, something few bands do. Right Time, Inc., provides health and equipment insurance and a vehicle to generate venture capital.
Over the years, Right Time, whose founding members were once known on the Dartmouth campus as Lost Time, has capitalized on its members' skills and flexibility in order to grow, change, and remain cohesive. During a six-week tour this past winter, one member's announcement that he wanted to quit the band prompted a productive introspection. Having previously committed themselves to playing full time, the group realized that they were playing the same repertoire 15 to 20 days a month, and it was not satisfying. As Mark Weltner explains, "We were gigging ourselves to death and draining everyone's creativity." The band, which makes decisions by consensus, agreed to take some time off, return to part-time gigs, and spend the summer concentrating on creating original music. The disgruntled member happily agreed to stay on.
Right Time's long-term goal is to obtain a record contract that could support all of its members financially. According to members of the music industry, of the 1,500 bands working in Boston, only three will get signed on for record contracts. Of that number only one out of ten will actually make it. Obviously, the members of Right Time have a tough road ahead, yet they have also laid the groundwork for success. They have made conscious choices to allow for the protection of the organization, the development of innovative sounds for the eighties, and the nurturing of the creative spirits of their members. As the Boston Globe reviewer concluded, "Look for Right Time to be a leading band of the future."
The band, which once rehearsed in a oneroom schoolhouse in Sharon, Vt., can now be found in many Boston clubs and will appear throughout the summer on Cape Cod and the Islands. They have returned to Dartmouth for occasional fraternity and Green Key parties and were featured last year at the fifth reunion of the class of '79.
Members of the musical group Right Time are front row, left to right, josefina Bosch '79, Mark Weltner'79, Eric Richardson '82, Emily Lanxner, Neville T. Scott '82; and back row, left to right, Mary GlaserPh.D. '82, Phil Can, Sam Bozeman '79, and Mike Geilich '79.
