"I only played two major concerts with that group--the whole reason I play music is to perform in front of people," Wood says.

Eggers says participating in independent projects has allowed him to maintain his "Creative freedom."

Matthew, BSide, rapper, says he values the group's fluid, in-the-moment performance style.

"We're all improvising at different times in the set," he says. "We feed off each other."

Despite these benefits, the musicians say that, as in many spheres of campus life, they could benefits from increased support.

Outside of the Corps

Musicians say the on-campus music scene is stunted because Harvard, unlike many other college, does not pay student bands to perform.

"The scene here is terms of a supportive musical network is one of the worst I've experienced, and I think it has to do with the administration's attitude," says Tyler Gibbons '99, who plays in the Humming, a band he and several friends started in junior High.

Despite the adversity, Gibbons has managed to play over 250 performances since he's been at Harvard by seeking out opportunities at other schools.

The band-which travels three out of four weekends in a van they own-has played at Amherst, the University of New Hampshire, Haverford, and clubs like the Basements, in Portland, Maine.

John Thomasson, former member of the class of 1999 who now plays in the Humming, agrees.

"Here, there’s no obvious space and there's no money for bringing in bands," Thomasson says. "You can't even get honorariums here."

Thomasson and Gibbons say other schools often pay between $400 and $1,000 per performance, Last fall, the Humming played to the University of New Hampshire’s solarfest, an all-day event sponsored by an environmental organization. They were paid $500 for a 45-minute set, as were nine other bands.

Eggers says a student group at Tufts paid BSide $300 to play at a poetry reading . "I feel that there are no groups here that are so well funded that they would pay for musicians," Eggers says.

Weinstein says Harvard administrators may be less interested in funding student performances because of the College's urban location.