'For the Record' UNC has a seven member student band

‘For the Record’ is a group of UNC students — Coleman Rambo, Aldric McMahan, Quinn Armour, Spencer Garris, Henry Malcolm, Matthew Taylor, and Diego Fleury Mendible — who decided to start their band one day on a whim.

Being in the same fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha, Malcolm and Fleury Mendible were sitting outside among the fresh leaves of early spring this year when Malcom mentioned he had recently heard that Fleury Mendible could sing, and then recruited him to a band he was already forming with Rambo.

The band said felt like it needed a female vocalist and Quinn Armour had heard about them through a mutual friend. From there, Armour who had only practiced with the band three times prior, joined them live for the first time as lead vocalist alongside Fleury Mendible. 

Garris and Taylor, the newest addition, joined them later on after meeting through their fraternity.

The band name emerged from a chaotic discussion of ideas. When voting for a different name, Malcolm used the phrase ‘For the Record,’ which caught the ear of the other members and was then set in stone. 

Most of the members have a long history with music, starting as young as six years old for Rambo, who plays the drums. However, McMahan and Garris had to acquire new skills since joining the band as McMahan had only played the guitar before picking up the bass for the band, and Garris became an on-demand DJ, so to speak, learning to mix sound during live performances. Rambo and Armour had been in bands prior, but not to this scale.

Individually the band members' interests range from Bluegrass to Rock. Diverse preferences aside, they choose their songs by taking a majority band vote and appreciating what the audience wants.

Once we started performing, we kind of realized what songs reach the crowd better and what people are more excited to hear. That’s been a big part of it is what will get the crowd going and enjoying our music,” Armour said. 

Following the trends of popular culture, the band enjoys playing Rock and Country, with musical influences such as The Beatles, Rolling Stones, and Zach Bryan.

The band currently strictly plays covers, however, Armour is a songwriter and said she hopes to be able to write a collaborative song with her bandmates. 

Since its formation in March of this year, the band has played tailgates, formals and philanthropic events. However, they are hoping to branch out into more independent venues like local bars. 

One of their first live performances was a tailgate for the UNC-NC State basketball game which they said went very well; the crowd was excited for the music and the day. 

The band went from renting their equipment because they were not sure where it would go, to owning every piece they use — dedicated to making their shows the best they can be, and honing their craft. 

Within the bubble of a collegiate institution, the limitations of the ‘real world’ are few and far between. Beyond UNC, the band hopes to take opportunities when they come. Even with three of the band’s members graduating next year, hopes are high. 

“Our biggest thing is to let people enjoy our music and perform for them. So, the more people the merrier, we just want to make people happy and have a good time when we perform," Garris said.  "Just to see where it takes us and if that means doing gigs somewhere else outside of North Carolina or just anything like that, whatever we pick up we'll be more than happy to do it."

Working around the schedules of seven people who have varying academic interests, such as history and statistics, has been difficult. There isn't much overlap between these fields of study, but they all have a strong passion for music which is why they make it work. 

The band hopes to be an inspiration to other young musicians. They hope that others see them live, and know they could do the same, in terms of learning a new skill, an instrument, or forming their own band. 

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