The Underground Foundation at ASU has served the Phoenix music scene for the past eight years, providing safe spaces where local musicians can perform and gain new followers. The club would not exist without the passion of its current and former officers, a few of whom make up the Tempe-based hard rock band Sonoran Chorus.
The band’s lineup consists of the former president of TUF, guitarist and vocalist Alex LeBlanc, and the current president, drummer Troy Penny, as well as vocalist and bassist Damon Dominguez, who served the club as secretary.
Dominguez, a psychology senior, said Sonoran Chorus formed a year ago while he was playing in another band, Leonardo DiCapricorn. He said it began as a simple jam session with friends before becoming something more serious.
“I put on Facebook, ‘Hey, I bought a new bass amp,’” he said. “Alex got in touch with me and said, ‘Hey, I’m actually playing music with this guy Troy. Do you want to come over with your new bass amp and play music?’”
Dominguez said although the three of them came from different musical backgrounds, playing together felt “natural,” so much so that he brought guitarist Joe Alli from Leonardo Dicapricorn and the four immediately began creating their own music.
“(Alli) came over, and we wrote two or three songs of what became our original EP ("Lagoon Squad") that same day,” he said.
Since "Lagoon Squad," the band released another EP in March titled “Laird.” The EP was recorded in Dominguez’s home and named after the Tempe street on which he lives.
LeBlanc, an electrical engineering senior at ASU, said the formation of Sonoran Chorus could be attributed “entirely” to TUF, mostly due to his friendship with Dominguez.
“I would not know Damon Dominguez if I hadn’t been a part of TUF,” he said. “The four of us came together at my house, and we jammed, and it was good. That was when the core musician and the core organizer of Sonoran Chorus met the future and past president of TUF.”
Penny said the eclectic Phoenix music scene would benefit if more artists from different musical backgrounds got together more frequently.
“I think that people could work together more,” he said. “I feel like there are a lot of people that find their niche and stick to it, which isn’t a bad thing, because you thrive in that community you find, but once you find that you’re sticking to it, it can restrict the development of that niche.”
Sonoran Chorus will perform a free show at Yucca Tap Room on Friday, Oct. 7 at 8 p.m.
Reach the reporter at idickins@asu.edu or follow @sailormouthed92 on Twitter.
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