Spring Break
The Daily OrangeThe Frontman: Professor's passion for music, teaching highlights him in the classroom and on stage
By Chase W. Wright
Posted: 1/24/08, 10:43 PM EST Section: News
It's another band practice in the basement of the Dischiave house. Susan is upstairs keeping the pizza warm; the guys are in the basement preparing. With the two couches pushed up against the walls and the rest of the furniture moved to the side, the four band members tune their instruments and take their places in the center of the basement. Dave Molta is the last to arrive.
"Just in time," yells David Dischiave as he takes a swig of his Saranac Pale Ale.
In the corner of the room, surrounded by two Fender amps, a microphone stand and an opened-up ironing board stands the most dynamic member of the iBand, Jeffrey Stanton, "the conductor," as his three friends and coworkers refer to him.
He's dressed in the same clothes he wore to work, dark green slacks, sneakers (not dress shoes) and a cream-colored button-down shirt with no tie.
His suitcase is a backpack, packed to the point in which the seams look like they're about to burst. Out of the backpack appears the fifth member of the iBand, Stanton's laptop. Using a software program called Guitar Tracks Pro, Stanton creates drum beats to match the sound and style of the iBand.
It may seem like it, but this is no ordinary garage band. The iBand is composed of four "human" members, all of which are faculty at the School of Information Studies. Dischiave, Molta and Paul Brenner all play the guitar. Stanton is the group's bassist, an instrument he picked up just a few years ago to give the iBand a more diverse sound.
For all members except Stanton, the iBand is, and probably will be the high point of their music careers. However, music has been in the blood of the recently named associate dean for Research and Doctoral Programs for a long time.
Despite his obvious ear for music, Stanton is best known around the iSchool for his brilliance and patience with students. He is a professor, a dean, a doctor, an advisor, a husband, a father, an author and a musician. He's written more than 60 scholarly articles, published a how-to book for companies entitled "The Visible Employee," written a mid-grade science fiction novel for children grades three to eight, and has the same solid high-pitched voice and subtle talents of Eagles bassist Timothy Schmitt, at least according to his assistant Roberta Segreti. Segreti overhears the iBand practice routinely in Stanton's office.
"Just in time," yells David Dischiave as he takes a swig of his Saranac Pale Ale.
In the corner of the room, surrounded by two Fender amps, a microphone stand and an opened-up ironing board stands the most dynamic member of the iBand, Jeffrey Stanton, "the conductor," as his three friends and coworkers refer to him.
He's dressed in the same clothes he wore to work, dark green slacks, sneakers (not dress shoes) and a cream-colored button-down shirt with no tie.
His suitcase is a backpack, packed to the point in which the seams look like they're about to burst. Out of the backpack appears the fifth member of the iBand, Stanton's laptop. Using a software program called Guitar Tracks Pro, Stanton creates drum beats to match the sound and style of the iBand.
It may seem like it, but this is no ordinary garage band. The iBand is composed of four "human" members, all of which are faculty at the School of Information Studies. Dischiave, Molta and Paul Brenner all play the guitar. Stanton is the group's bassist, an instrument he picked up just a few years ago to give the iBand a more diverse sound.
For all members except Stanton, the iBand is, and probably will be the high point of their music careers. However, music has been in the blood of the recently named associate dean for Research and Doctoral Programs for a long time.
Despite his obvious ear for music, Stanton is best known around the iSchool for his brilliance and patience with students. He is a professor, a dean, a doctor, an advisor, a husband, a father, an author and a musician. He's written more than 60 scholarly articles, published a how-to book for companies entitled "The Visible Employee," written a mid-grade science fiction novel for children grades three to eight, and has the same solid high-pitched voice and subtle talents of Eagles bassist Timothy Schmitt, at least according to his assistant Roberta Segreti. Segreti overhears the iBand practice routinely in Stanton's office.
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