Native Maze holds jam session at Club De ‘Ville

A Local band played for their third time together at a free concert at Club De ‘Ville last Thursday night.

On January 28, from 8-10 p.m., Millersville Thursday night program featuring free concerts at Club de ‘Ville, sponsored by University Activities Board (UAB). To open up this new event, the set provided its first live full-band performance by MU’s own Native Maze.

Originally from the Chalfont area of Pennsylvania, Native Maze has been together since the fall of 2008. The reggae/jam rock genre band has six members, three of which style dreadlocks, and consider their performances to be more like jam sessions.

Rather than playing simply for live entertainment, Native Maze shows their enthusiasm and love for the music with smiles on their faces and warm energetic, and positive movements throughout the concert.

The band mentioned on Thursday night that it was only the third time the six members had been together to perform in front of a live audience in their two years of being a band. This is because of the band’s unfortunate separation when it comes to school.

The lead vocalist, Dan Montalvo, is a junior at Elon University in North Carolina. The noticeably superb guitarist known for his solos is the youngest member of the band Vin Giardello, is a sophomore at Penn Ridge High School. The rest of the band is comprised of Zak Winokur (guitar/vocals), Tim Ruggiero (bass/vocals), Jay Kinney (drums/percussion) and Adam McDevitt (keyboard/vocals), all who attend Millersville.

The band is currently unsigned but that has not stopped them from completing two albums titled, “Native Maze” and “The Everydaze.” Each of these albums was available for purchase at the concert and are still available upon contacting any of the band members.

Much like the performance on Thursday night, the creation of the band name, Native Maze, was a team effort by lead vocalist, Dan and guitarist, Zak. The word “Native,” thought up by Montalvo, is a word from “Native Americans,” which stands for how spirituality and culture play a significant role in life in order to live happily and peacefully.

“Maze,” brought into the picture by Winokur, represents obstacles and hard times in the journey through life, and is synonymous because at the end of the maze of our life is when we find what we were looking for.

Each of the words used in the band’s name is portrayed intricately in the lyrics and melody of their music, is similar to artists such as Sublime or Bob Marley. Fans of Sublime or Bob Marley will find themselves interested in the musical attributes of Native Maze.

On Thursday night, the turnout was a great start to the weekly event, with most of the seats taken, along with a group of people standing to the side and in the back of the seated crowd.

Several audience members mentioned that they had heard the band before, but not with all six members. Having the whole band there made the concert a more pleasurable evening.

“They did really great,” Courtney Wallace, a junior, said.

“The six members really came together and provided a powerful performance,” Wayne Lady said.

Senior Bob “Bobe” Forsyth said that the guitar solos (performed by Giardello) gave him goosegumps, and that the entire show was “raw.” Julie Hughes, a junior, said, “It made my night awesome,” with a big smile on her face.

Native Maze supplied a mellow atmosphere accompanied by a smooth tone that enabled the band, as well as the audience members, to chill and enjoy a good jam session put on by a great band.

More information about the band and their future shows can be found on their Facebook listed under “Native Maze.”