Alternative Rock Joins TNL Lineup

The latest band to rock out on the Tuesday Night Live series was the alternative rock band Melodime. Melodime had Friends Hall shaking with music during their 9:30 p.m. show at Ramapo.

Before the main act, student band Strive took the stage. Singer and guitar player Ryan Patrick, drummer Joe Fahey and guitarist Izik brought Strive’s rock repertoire to TNL.

Strive performed two original songs, “This Time” and “Leave It All Behind.” They also covered “Somebody Told Me” by The Killers and “That’s What You Get” by Paramore. These songs were adapted to fit their instruments: two guitars and a cajon.

After Strive warmed up the crowd, Melodime began their set. Singer and guitarist Bradley Rhodes, keyboardist Sam Duis and drummer Tyler Duis make up the rock alternative band. Although they described themselves as a rock band with alternative roots, Bradley Rhodes explained that it is hard to fit their music into a specific genre.

“We go back and forth with what style we fit into. We’ve decided that we’re an alternative roots rock band,” Rhodes said.

The band is based out of Washington, D.C. and have been together six years. Recently they have toured around the country, bringing their music to college campuses.

“We started six years ago. We’ve been on the road a lot those past six years. This fall we’ve done a lot of colleges and we’ve enjoyed it very much,” Rhodes said.

For their performance at Ramapo, Melodime played original songs like “Lullaby” and “Puppet.” They performed the songs “High & Low,” “The Chase,” “Our Time” and more from their new CD “3 Reasons For Fighting.” Along with these originals, Melodime covered “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele, “Drops of Jupiter” by Train and “Waterfalls” by TLC.

Another original song they performed, “The Underdog,” was inspired by their struggle to enter the music industry.

“Sometimes you get marked as the underdog given how tough this industry is, but we love it for the ups and downs,” Rhodes said.

Other unique songs include one loosely based on the movie “The Wizard of Oz” called “Ruby Reds” and a song written to an old girlfriend called “The Letter.”

Many students, like freshman Jessican Dragone, were unfamiliar with the Melodimes before this show.

“I’ve never heard of them before. Me and my friends saw the signs and had nothing to do so we decided to come,” Dragone said.

 For Dragone, it turned out to be a great way to spend the night.

“They were amazing,” Dragone said after the show.

Melodime left the stage after their performance to talk to the students and thank them for coming to their show. Their CD was on sale at the reduced price of $5 for Ramapo students

Front man Bradley Rhodes hoped that their performance was more than just a good time for the students and that their music would affect their audience.

“I hope that this is more than just a show. We always want to affect people with the songs we sing. We want people to take the music home with them and be able to listen to the words and message of the songs, which you can’t always do from one live show,” Rhodes said, “We’re looking to create lifelong fans.”

Look out for more TNL events sponsored by the College Programming Board.


rking2@ramapo.edu