Big goals always present to guide these musicians

By Sarah Clise

Unless you're a musician yourself, you probably don't think twice about the work that goes into making your favorite tunes. The art of making beats and using computer programs and a variety of equipment to produce musical rhythms is more challenging than most would believe.

Here at Santa Clara, three students, Dave Harding, Carlo Pappano and Andrew Willingham, have hopes of breaking into the burgeoning beats industry, each with his own unique sound and vision.

* Dave Harding

A sophomore from Portland, Maine, Dave started listening to hip-hop by accident. His dad gave him a cassette tape of Warren G's "Regulators" that he'd found in a parking lot. "After that, I was hooked," said Harding.

He's built a home studio and has recorded with many artists from Maine. Describing the process he goes through to make his beats, Harding admits it's very complicated.

"I load drum loops into my drum pad and start playing a rhythm using my hands. Then I record my drums in fruity loops so I have a 16-bar loop that plays over and over," said Harding. "Then I come up with either the melody or the baseline as I listen to the drum pattern. Once the loop is done, I separate each track and make variations."

Harding established his own record label, DNR Records, in 2006 and aspires to score a film using only hip-hop tracks. He also hopes to have a performance of his work at the Bronco in the coming quarter.

To listen to Harding's music, visit www.myspace.com/dnrrecords.

* Carlo Pappano

Carlo defines his sound as "slick." From Newport Beach, California, he cites J Dilla, Ayatollah, Timbaland, Kanye West and Traxamillion as some of his biggest influences and is hopeful of achieving the same fame that his idols enjoy.

However, he points out that being a white artist in a predominantly black industry is a challenge.

"I want to network and sell beats to the point where I can support myself. It's every producer's dream to be able to wake up whenever you want, have a glass of OJ and make beats for days. My real goals are lofty," said Pappano. "At the very least, I'd like to be in one music video, especially one on a major network. It'd be a great in for going up to a girl."

Infusing anything from Armenian folk music and belly dancing into more traditional hip-hop, he's currently working with Bay Area artists including Moonshyne and DLabrie.

To hear Pappano's music, visit www.myspace.com/carlopizzoprod.

* Andrew Willingham

While he hails from Seattle, Wash., Andrew Willingham's beats are as far from grunge as you can get. His primary influence is Dame Grease, DMX's producer, who Willingham admires for his decision to stay sample free in his production.

He prides himself on making his own beats, explaining that "not relying on samples to make beats gives me much more freedom than producers whose tracks are sample heavy. My beats are unique."

Willingham started making songs using MIDI on his computer or on Super Nintendo's Mario Paint when he was only in the second grade.

He's been making music ever since and has produced two full-length records with the group Department of the Treasury. He is currently producing a third album.

While Willingham is extremely passionate about making music, he echoes Pappano's sentiments about breaking into the industry.

"Some people expect hip-hop to be black rappers, drugs, sex and violence, but there is so much more to the genre than that," said Willingham. "I'd love to see people be more willing to listen to my music and give it a chance, instead of writing it off as a pale imitation of someone else's music."

To hear Willingham's music, visit www.myspace.com/thedepartmentofthetreasuryrap.

Contact Sarah Clise at sclise@scu.edu.