“I think I have centered my mind so much on music, I can not even imagine it getting taken away from me,” Jermey Vrablic said. That quote personifies who Vrablic is as a person. His life revolves around music.
Vrablic is a 19-year-old freshman here at Rowan University. He majors in Electrical and Computer Engineering. As a freshman in high school, Vrablic got into a science/engineering program. Another part of his journey toward wanting to become an engineer was having an outstanding teacher in that engineering class who pushed him. Throughout his first few months here at Rowan, Vrablic has joined a group of freshmen to create a new band called Luna.
“There was a club meeting that I went to called Rowan Alt [Rowan Alternative Music Club or RALT]. I went to go see because it was some music stuff and it seemed interesting,” Vrablic said. During that meeting, Vrablic saw two people and they offered him a position in their band. Vrablic accepted the offer and has been with them ever since.
One of Vrablic’s memorable moments at the beginning of this band was when they placed second in Battle of the Bands, hosted by Rowan Alt. Battle of the Bands is similar to a talent show but with bands, hence the title.
“Our first time on the stage was Battle of the Bands and we got second place as a group of freshmen,” Vrablic said. “It was cool. We were competing with great bands who have been together longer than us. For us to get second place was cool.”
When it comes to Vrablic’s band’s process of making music, it is very free-flowing. Inspiration could come from something as small as a riff on one of their instruments.
“It usually starts with someone playing their instrument. If it sounds good, we can work off of that,” Vrablic said. “Once we figure that out, we would have to find ideas for songs that we could join with the music that was played.” Being a student and a member of a bend is challenging for Vrablic.
“It’s not easy. You just have to make time. I’m busy all the time. It’s tiring sometimes,” Vrablic said. “Whenever I’m feeling like I can’t handle the load of being a student and musician, I call my dad. He gives me a 30-minute call. After that, I’m locked in.” Vrablic’s advice for aspiring musicians is, “Put yourself out there. Talk to people. Don’t be scared to do it. Just do it.”
Coming full circle now from the beginning of this piece, Vrablic loves performing and making people happy. “I do everything around music and I love performing. When I look out at the crowd and they’re happy, it fills me,” Vrablic said.
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