A dimly lit room adorned with candles, where you can feel the bass in your bones and students dancing around you, is the essence of AMP ASU: a haven for moshers, headbangers and music lovers.
AMP, a newly revived club on campus that’s been making strides in the local music scene, stands for Art, Music and Poetry. After the club faced a major downfall in 2020 due to COVID-19, it’s back to hosting shows for students as well as the community.
Arely Rodriguez, a senior studying marketing and the president of AMP, said she originally just wanted to get involved on campus, and is looking for a career in music business.
“Everything we do is surrounding the community and fostering engagement … in our little way of doing it through live music,” she said.
AMP shows are nearly always free or donation-based, making live music accessible not only to ASU students but to the local community as a whole. AMP uses donation-based shows to cover their general costs, or gives back to the community by providing donated money to local organizations. For example, the last AMP show saw a donation to One n Ten, which supports LGBTQ+ initiatives.
House shows can come with rambunctious energy — the signature unruliness that makes the alternative scene unique. AMP takes care to uphold ASU standards while still being a space where students can enjoy the atmosphere.
Despite the chaos that would be associated with AMP shows, the standard for professionalism is set high. Erik Christiansen, a third-year student studying mechanical engineering and AMP’s marketing officer, said that the club maintains decorum and ensures that all of its ducks are in a row.
“We run it like the Navy,” Rodriguez said.
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AMP is heavily involved in every step of the show production process, from promoting to design to sound, as well as visuals. The process allows students to get a behind-the-scenes look into live music — or just enjoy the show.
“We want people to come to our shows, and we want people to participate in the club,” Christiansen said. “It’s a very open process.”
Rodriguez said that while AMP’s specialty is rock and indie, they’re always adaptive to what the community wants to see. She also said that “Goth Night,” one of AMP’s most recent shows on Oct. 24, was an effort by the club to put on a show that fit the Halloween season.
“We welcome everyone with open arms, because everyone has something to add,” Rodriguez said. “It’s nice to see new people coming in who are passionate, who either want to play a show or just want to learn the process of putting on a show.”
Aidan Cline, a freshman studying biomedical sciences, could be found letting loose in the mosh pit during Goth Night. He said that he enjoyed the energy as well as finding new bands.
“It’s nice to see other people I’ve seen at other shows,” Cline said. “It’s kind of like a little niche community,”
Rodriguez said that AMP has been working hard to create a connection between ASU and Arizona’s music scene.
“Every major artist or every major music scene starts with something very local … getting people involved with that early, so that way we can give these artists the opportunity to grow, is very important,” Christiansen said.
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Elliott Peck, a freshman studying global management, and Will Tantillo make up the band Miserable Ghost. The duo founded the band in 2020 and have been performing together since. Their recent performance at Goth Night marked Miserable Ghost’s first AMP show.
Peck said that the best part of playing in a band is being able to see people’s reactions to their music.
“I’m a big fan of being an entertainer, and I believe Will is too,” Peck said.
Miserable Ghost’s “freak wave” music at Goth Night drew the audience into their rhythmic riffs and explosive dance. Their interactions with the audience culminated in the duo tackling and embracing each other at the end of their set.
“There’s definitely a good community at ASU, but it’s for sure one of those places where you’ve got to find your people, or you’re not going to find anyone,” Peck said.
AMP’s next event will take place on Nov. 7, a collaboration with Onshuffle HQ featuring local bands. The show is free and open to the public.
“There’s a certain energy of local music that’s really hard to capture,” Christiansen said. “I highly encourage anyone that can to be involved with it.”
Edited by Kasturi Tale, Henry Smardo and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at ajanusee@asu.edu and follow @lexijanusee on X.
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Lexi Janusee is in her first semester with the State Press. She is a freshman studying Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Theatre. Lexi also works for Blaze Radio, and is an on-air host for Open Mic.
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