Band Together

Revisiting some of Tabor’s most iconic student bands

By Eliott Grover ’06

The Fumin’ Humins, one of Tabor’s first great student bands, got their big break in the fall of 1965 at an unlikely venue for a rock show: the First Congregational Church of Marion. Drawing on influences from Motown to Liverpool, the Humins and other Tabor groups of the era developed their own style, dubbed “the Sippican Sound” by Tabor’s student newspaper, The Log.

The original quartet included Bradley Cardoza ’67, Paul Johnson ’67, John Bendall ’68, and Allen Nadler ’67. Their church concert won over local fans. “At the end of the performance, the group was offered various jobs from people in the neighboring towns,” The Log reported.

The addition of two musical brothers, Karl ’67 and Rob ’68 Van Petten, injected the band with fresh energy. They released a 45 record with two tracks—including “Relative Distance,” an original penned by Cardoza (listen here)—and contributed to a tradition where student acts supplied the music at school dances.

At a dance in April 1966, Tabor hosted girls from the Walnut Hill School in Natick. Students mingled and swayed to the tunes of the Humins and other bands, dancing the Jerk, the Monkey, and the Frug. “It was obvious that when the dance had to break up,” The Log reported, “there were many reluctant participants.”

By that point in school history, live music was already a staple of campus culture. A Steinway grand piano in the Lillard Hall living room, donated by Edith Austin in 1927, fueled many a soiree during the Jazz Age. Horns blared and drums snared across campus with the rise of swing. Instrumental virtuosity was not a prerequisite for participation. “What the new members lack in experience,” The Log wrote of the school’s Swing Band in December 1960, “they make up for in enthusiasm.”

By the 1960s, music had become as essential to the American teenager as oxygen. At Tabor, clubs devoted to various genres provided ample opportunities for students to pursue their passions and broaden their musical horizons in a communal setting. The Popular Music Club worshipped at the altar of rock and jazz, and they held a concert for the entire school every spring. 

Tabor’s alumni musicians are always quick to praise their faculty champions, and no account of student bands would be complete without mentioning Phil Sanborn. Sanborn, who retired in 2018 after 34 years leading Tabor’s music department, oversaw the Jazz Band and String Ensemble. An accomplished trombonist with extensive professional experience, Sanborn left an indelible mark on many aspiring musicians with his high standards and quick wit. Beyond his formal teaching responsibilities, he was instrumental in empowering a number of student bands. When Sanborn first arrived, groups like The A-Okays, Cosmic Country Sound, and Wet Love Debris were among the most active on campus. In the decades that followed, student bands flourished under his guidance.

“Phil Sanborn regularly respected me, challenged me, and supported me through my musical pursuits,” says Jake Nochimow ’05. “It’s wonderful what someone can do to help those who sincerely want to explore in a creatively non-linear pursuit.”

Nochimow performed alongside Sanborn in the Tri-County Symphonic Band and, separately, was recognized as one of the best concert snare drummers in Massachusetts. He played in several student bands, including Stoltenjam and The Pink Socks, and produced an album of original music for his senior project. Sanborn lent Nochimow some of his personal recording equipment, and Headmaster Jay Stroud provided funds to help make CDs, which Nochimow sold to an enthusiastic audience after his project presentation. 

“I walked home with a pocket of unexpected cash and decided I wanted to be a music producer,” recalls Nochimow, who is now a full-time musician and photographer based in Oakland, CA.

The Slip, whose story as one of Tabor’s most prolific bands is available here, also benefited from the mentorship of Sanborn and others. “Between the music department of Phil and Matt [Richard] and teachers like Bob Mogilnicki ’76 and Dennis Herrer, there were a lot of teachers supporting the music and our development,” says bassist Marc Friedman ’95.

In the 2000s, several Tabor bands followed in The Slip’s footsteps. Spencer Zahn ’06, now a successful multi-instrumentalist and producer (listen here), formed The North Street Connection, a jazz fusion band, with two friends from Old Rochester Regional High School. In January 2006, they played at JazzFest, which Tabor hosted to benefit New Orleans residents after Hurricane Katrina.

“This trio has a really put together and fun sound,” wrote a Log reporter, praising North Street Connection’s mix of electric and classical instruments. For the second half of their set, they were joined by a four-piece horn section, including Sanborn on trombone. Their final number, “When the Saints Come Marching In,” was a rousing tribute to the city that had the entire auditorium dancing in their seats.

In the audience that day were five freshmen who had recently started their own band. Winslow Marshall ’09 and Harry Yates ’09 attended middle school together and had long planned to start a band when they got to high school. Marshall played guitar and Yates was a bassist. Once they arrived at Tabor, it didn’t take long for them to befriend drummer Brendan Killarney ’09 and guitarist Peter Clark ’09.