RFA Graduates: What happens now?
RFA record release show at PhilaMOCA, photo copyright Dylan Eddinger Photography
Graduation is rapidly approaching, and if you’re planning on walking across the stage to accept your degree from the College of Arts and Sciences, then it’s likely your ideal career is slightly unconventional. Whether you’re a writer, an artist, or a musician, you’ve probably known all along that you never envisioned a corporate or cubicle job for yourself. Pursuing a degree in liberal arts almost always means hoping to pursue a career in whatever you’re truly passionate about, and that might not coincide with what you studied. For local band RFA, their goal is to pursue their music full-time. But how likely is that? Where is the safety net?
Frontman Dan Cousart, senior Music Industry major at Drexel University, has high hopes that the band will stay together post-grad.
“This is what we all want to do. In the meantime before we can make a living doing this, we’re going to have to get day jobs. Alec is going to be working at our old high school next year and Brendan is working for the Philly Pops. Christian and I are still figuring out what we’re going to do, but staying in the city and the band are the main priorities.” Cousart said.
RFA is comprised Cousart, bassist Brendan McHale, also a senior Music Industry major at Drexel, guitarist Christian Turzo, senior Communications major at University of Pennsylvania, and drummer Alec Powell, senior Psychology major at Temple University. Everyone has high hopes that the band can stay together.
However, Cousart said that all bandmates knew that, no matter what degree they graduated with, music was always going to be their number one passion in life. But, if the parents of RFA are anything like my own, then they said no to pursuing a music major in favor of something more stable.
“Brendan and I are both music ‘business’ majors, so it’s sort of a middle ground between pursuing a full music degree and getting a MBA. [While the others have different majors,] I don’t think any of us would have wanted to major in music because it might have taken a lot of the enjoyment out of what we do, especially when something like music becomes a chore. I’m sure you can really learn a lot with a music degree, but I feel like that’s more for people who want to go into teaching or further education in music as opposed to being in a rock band.” Cousart said.
When you have a passion project like a band - especially one with a fantastic Philadelphia fanbase - then you know giving it all up would be heartbreaking. RFA has survived since all members were in tenth grade, and they just recently ended a USA tour. Who says it has to end just because college is?
“Philly in a lot of ways really shaped how we are as a band. I think the fact that we’ve played so frequently here has made us who we are in terms of our sound and work ethic. Houses were the only places that would really have us for the most part while we were underage, and that really drove us to try to prove ourselves.” Cousart said.
RFA album art courtesy of Charlie Dunkel
Earlier this month, RFA played their first headlining record release show to celebrate their debut self-titled album. They took the stage at PhilaMOCA, a popular college hangout, and wooed the crowd with old hits and new jams. RFA holds a special place in this city’s hearts - mostly because they’re so young and bursting with so much potential. While the real world is a scary but necessary place to face, it would be a waste to see them hang up their guitars and face the (lack of) music at their day jobs.
If you can find your way out of the grueling last-semester senior mindset and into a space of openness and productivity, then Philly’s music scene has endless possibilities for you. It’s about balancing work with passion, and these guys are on their way to figuring it all out.
RFA record release show at PhilaMOCA, photo copyright Dylan Eddinger Photography