Max Whipple ’10
Alumni in the arts shares his musical journey
How did you get involved in music at Campbell Hall?
I started playing music because I just wanted to play some dang rock and roll. In fourth grade, I started a band with Nick Pillot ’10 and Jack Frymark ’10 called the Freeloaders. That band fell apart at some point and I joined another band called Vas Defrans - we practiced four days a week and played shows all of the time. We even played at Coachella Music Festival when I was in 10th or 11th grade. At CH, I played in Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Orchestra, and Brazilian Drumming.
Tell us what you’ve been up to since graduating five years ago.
Well, I moved onto CalArts, another great place for me to develop creatively. I mainly focused on electric and upright bass when I got there. I soon started playing the accordion, which is now one of my main instruments. I got really into all of the world music they had there. Balinese Gamalan, African drums, and tabla were some of my favorites. Looking at music from different cultural perspectives was pretty cool to me. That became a big inspiration for the music I like making. While at CalArts, I played with a lot of bands. I did a few small West Coast tours and a few trips to Texas for South by Southwest. I recorded an album in Copenhagen for an artist named Monte Pittman. One of the bands, Deux Sons, I started with my friend Spencer Ludwig. At first, we were an accordion/trumpet duet playing at French restaurants. I started writing original music that didn’t sound so French, so we gave up on our French restaurant circuit. We slowly got more and more band members until we became an eightpiece band. We changed our name to Duk. With Duk, we play at a lot of bars, clubs, weddings, weird events, and some even weirder parties. Anyway, we’ve put out two albums: Early Worm Gets the Bird and Worm Vacation. Last year, Ari Balouzian ’07 and I did string and horn arrangements on Tobias Jesso Jr.’s first album, Goon. It was very fun to work on. Shortly after that came out, Tobias had a show in Los Angeles, and I told him that Duk would learn all of his songs if he wanted us to back him up. After that show, we started playing as his band. We played at Pitchfork Fest in Chicago and Pemberton in Vancouver. We performed live on KCRW and Jimmy Kimmel Live. We also just finished a U.S. tour. Playing with Tobias has been really great - a truly good artist and so awesome to work with. Earlier this year, I did a U.S. tour with a band called Wardell. We also did a Western U.S. tour opening for Ryan Adams.
I hear you’re working with a lot of fellow CH alumni these days – whom? how?
Ari Balouzian ’07 and I do a lot of music together. He plays in my band Duk. We’ve worked on a few film/TV/commercial scores together. We do a lot of recording projects together, whether it’s something he is working on or something I am working on. Nicky Rowlands ’09 and Juliana Rowlands ’12 made a music video for Duk. Dustin Alpern ’10 also made a music video for Duk. Oliver Bernsen ’07 has done a lot of art work for Duk, and I helped with some music on his short film. Nick Pillot ’10 and I have collaborated on some recording and have played some shows together.
Is there a specific teacher you had while at CH that helped develop your passion and talent?
Mr. Whiting was a great mentor to me. He exposed me to a lot of inspiring music that I still love today. Playing in the jazz bands and orchestra lead by Mr. Whiting definitely played a huge part in my development as a musician. I did an independent study with him my senior year. He challenged me in ways that really prepared me to be in a conservatory environment. I also had a lot of fun in all of his classes. I remember for a while, he would project a live video feed of his pet ducks on the whiteboard while we rehearsed. I loved those ducks.
As a 13-year student, tell us about some of your favorite or funniest CH memories.
Favorite memories, I’ll list them… drama on the kickball courts, watching The Sting in Mr. Horvitz’s class, egg drop, science experiments in the community locker, the Disystem, watching Blades of Glory on the environmental trip, soccer team, Dealing with Gale Bernard (The Musical), Jazz Band, Orchestra, and, of course, varsity soccer with my brother Tye Whipple ’08.
Funny CH memory…when I was in kindergarten, I had to get up in front of the whole class to present the weather or something. I was really nervous and couldn’t help but pee in my pants. Now, I make sure to always use the bathroom before getting on stage.
Back
I started playing music because I just wanted to play some dang rock and roll. In fourth grade, I started a band with Nick Pillot ’10 and Jack Frymark ’10 called the Freeloaders. That band fell apart at some point and I joined another band called Vas Defrans - we practiced four days a week and played shows all of the time. We even played at Coachella Music Festival when I was in 10th or 11th grade. At CH, I played in Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Orchestra, and Brazilian Drumming.
Tell us what you’ve been up to since graduating five years ago.
Well, I moved onto CalArts, another great place for me to develop creatively. I mainly focused on electric and upright bass when I got there. I soon started playing the accordion, which is now one of my main instruments. I got really into all of the world music they had there. Balinese Gamalan, African drums, and tabla were some of my favorites. Looking at music from different cultural perspectives was pretty cool to me. That became a big inspiration for the music I like making. While at CalArts, I played with a lot of bands. I did a few small West Coast tours and a few trips to Texas for South by Southwest. I recorded an album in Copenhagen for an artist named Monte Pittman. One of the bands, Deux Sons, I started with my friend Spencer Ludwig. At first, we were an accordion/trumpet duet playing at French restaurants. I started writing original music that didn’t sound so French, so we gave up on our French restaurant circuit. We slowly got more and more band members until we became an eightpiece band. We changed our name to Duk. With Duk, we play at a lot of bars, clubs, weddings, weird events, and some even weirder parties. Anyway, we’ve put out two albums: Early Worm Gets the Bird and Worm Vacation. Last year, Ari Balouzian ’07 and I did string and horn arrangements on Tobias Jesso Jr.’s first album, Goon. It was very fun to work on. Shortly after that came out, Tobias had a show in Los Angeles, and I told him that Duk would learn all of his songs if he wanted us to back him up. After that show, we started playing as his band. We played at Pitchfork Fest in Chicago and Pemberton in Vancouver. We performed live on KCRW and Jimmy Kimmel Live. We also just finished a U.S. tour. Playing with Tobias has been really great - a truly good artist and so awesome to work with. Earlier this year, I did a U.S. tour with a band called Wardell. We also did a Western U.S. tour opening for Ryan Adams.
I hear you’re working with a lot of fellow CH alumni these days – whom? how?
Ari Balouzian ’07 and I do a lot of music together. He plays in my band Duk. We’ve worked on a few film/TV/commercial scores together. We do a lot of recording projects together, whether it’s something he is working on or something I am working on. Nicky Rowlands ’09 and Juliana Rowlands ’12 made a music video for Duk. Dustin Alpern ’10 also made a music video for Duk. Oliver Bernsen ’07 has done a lot of art work for Duk, and I helped with some music on his short film. Nick Pillot ’10 and I have collaborated on some recording and have played some shows together.
Is there a specific teacher you had while at CH that helped develop your passion and talent?
Mr. Whiting was a great mentor to me. He exposed me to a lot of inspiring music that I still love today. Playing in the jazz bands and orchestra lead by Mr. Whiting definitely played a huge part in my development as a musician. I did an independent study with him my senior year. He challenged me in ways that really prepared me to be in a conservatory environment. I also had a lot of fun in all of his classes. I remember for a while, he would project a live video feed of his pet ducks on the whiteboard while we rehearsed. I loved those ducks.
As a 13-year student, tell us about some of your favorite or funniest CH memories.
Favorite memories, I’ll list them… drama on the kickball courts, watching The Sting in Mr. Horvitz’s class, egg drop, science experiments in the community locker, the Disystem, watching Blades of Glory on the environmental trip, soccer team, Dealing with Gale Bernard (The Musical), Jazz Band, Orchestra, and, of course, varsity soccer with my brother Tye Whipple ’08.
Funny CH memory…when I was in kindergarten, I had to get up in front of the whole class to present the weather or something. I was really nervous and couldn’t help but pee in my pants. Now, I make sure to always use the bathroom before getting on stage.
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Phone 818.980.7280
Phone 818.980.7280
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