Wheatley School alumnus Samuel Goldfine, currently completing his senior year at New York University, is weighing his options: going to law school or playing bass in a rock band.
The 20-year-old political science major plays bass in a band, Beast Makes Bomb, that could gain serious traction from appearances it will make later this month, opening for Queens of the Stone Age at the South By Southwest music festival in Austin, TX.
That gig, and a subsequent tour around the country are the fruits of Beast Makes Bomb’s victory in a “Get Out of the Garage” contest for rock bands sponsored by Guitar Center.
Meanwhile, Goldfine has applied to law schools for graduate work.
But first, he has a few significant gigs to play in concert venues around the country.
The Guitar Center contest started with more than 1,000 bands competing online, narrowed down to 100 bands and then 10 in three rounds of competition that started last fall.
“Thousand of bands were involved. You had to have people voting for you every day,” Goldfine said.
Winning the top prize also means $10,000 worth of equipment from the Guitar Center, $1,000 worth of clothing from Journeys. It also includes two days at Rubber Tracks, a recording studio where the band expects to make its first long-playing album after the two extra play albums it has recorded.
The tour after Austin will go to Los Angeles, Seattle and Chicago, opening for the Tokyo Police Club and Cold War Kids with a final concert in New York City at the Highline Ballroom on May 5.
“It’s exciting. We’re hoping this will kind of be the break,” Goldfine said. “We’ve done very small tours. This is definitely the largest thing we’ve done.”
All of Goldfine’s bandmates also go to NYU where they are music majors.
So the band’s future – and Goldfine’s career path – may hinge on what happens while they tour over the next two months.
“That would be great if that would work out. But if not, I have law school,” said Goldfine, who currently is awaiting answers from law schools where he’s applied for entrance.
His musical performance roots go back to the North Side School where he first played stand-up bass in 4th grade. Playing the bass remained part of his education through grade school, and beyond. He also learned to play piano at his parents’ urging. That didn’t really stick, but playing the bass did, according to Goldfine, who said his parents have also been supportive of his musical pursuits.
He played both classical music and jazz on the bass while at Wheatley, playing in orchestras and the jazz band.
And now, the rest of Goldfine’s musical resume will depend on how much buzz Beast Makes Bomb creates for itself before he is graduated from NYU in May.
