Melissa Nugent ‘25
From club sports to theater troupes, students at St. Andrew’s participate in a variety of activities outside of the classroom; for senior Ryan O’Keefe, that activity is music. More specifically, rock music.
O’Keefe is in a band called Slushie, and it consists of himself and three other members he met while working at the Levine School of Music during his sophomore year – Nate Hale, Corbin Walker, and George Foster. While O’Keefe says they “have a lot of classic rock, blues, and R&B influences,” they specialize in alternative, garage, and indie rock. “It’s very influenced by punk rock,” said O’Keefe, “like Fugazi and Bikini Kill.”
Despite the fact that they are only high schoolers, Slushie has already performed in countless venues across Washington D.C. – from setting up in the alleyways of Georgetown to opening for Animals as Leaders at the legendary 9:30 Club, the band tries to perform once every month or two. That is, when their four different school schedules permit. “It’s not like we’re trying to be anything super big,” O’Keefe said, “we’re just trying to have some fun while we’re in the area.”
Slushie does not have any music released online, but they have been writing their own songs since the beginning and are currently working on releasing their first album. Until then, you can catch them at Open Mic nights at Madam’s Organ and grab one of their CDs (for free!) at the end of the show – says O’Keefe, “Whenever we [do] a gig, we just hand them out to audience members!”
