Photo by Ali Meizels ‘23. Left to right: Mav Leslie ‘23 on guitar and vocals, Jenny Yu ‘24 on bass guitar and Mira Zelkowitz ‘22 on lead guitar. Drummer Sofia Lopez Melgar ‘24 (not in picture) is the fourth musician in the band.
By Declan Langton ’22
Editor-in-Chief
On Wednesday, April 13, 2022, Bagel Therapy graced the Gettell Amphitheater stage for the first time. Spotlit by a hot sun and fanned by a cool breeze, the band — comprised of Mira Zelkowitz ’22 on lead guitar, Mav Leslie ’23 on guitar and vocals, Jenny Yu ’24 on bass and Sofia Lopez Melgar ’24 on the drums — started their set around 5 p.m. With flaring drums and driving guitars, the group began their first song: a cover of “Percolator” by alternative group Charly Bliss.
According to Lopez Melgar, the band was Leslie’s creation.
“I was in Vocal Jazz last semester, and we had a rehearsal with the jazz ensembles, which is where I originally saw [Zelkowitz] and [Lopez Melgar],” Leslie explained. After seeing them, Leslie recalled thinking, “They’re amazing. I need to play music with them.” Later, Leslie approached Lopez Melgar in the Dining Commons. They exchanged phone numbers and the trio started playing together soon after.
At the start of this semester, Leslie, Lopez Melgar and Zelkowitz realized they needed a bass player. Yu came into the picture after seeing a post on the Instagram page @mhc_crushes asking if there were musicians on campus. According to Leslie, Yu commented on the post explaining that she played bass. Leslie then reached out and proposed the idea of starting a band.
“From there, we just started meeting up and sharing music that we wanted to play together,” Leslie said.
Rehearsals at the start of Bagel Therapy were casual, Lopez Melgar described. “We didn’t even worry about if it was perfect, [we were] just having a good time,” she said.
“Zombie” by The Cranberries is one of Bagel Therapy’s strongest covers. The vocals fall comfortably in Leslie’s range, with just enough room for them to holler and croon in the repeating choruses.
Zelkowitz believes there is a collective excitement present when they play “Zombie.” There’s “a lot of the energy … there,” she said.
Something Bagel Therapy is still working out, though, is this song’s ending. “We don’t really know how [the song] ends, … like how many times the chorus repeats,” Lopez Melgar joked.
Yu explained that it comes down to glances and timed eye contact. “I remember looking at [Lopez Melgar], and I was like ‘now!’” she said, demonstrating the moment by bobbing her head forward.
The night before the performance, Leslie was thinking about their final vocal entrance, which comes at the start of the last chorus. Before that moment is an extended instrumental section and short guitar solo by Zelkowitz. “I texted [Zelkowitz] before we played that show … [and] was like, ‘Can you please look at me when I’m supposed to come back in? Because otherwise I will not know when,’” Leslie explained. Looking toward Zelkowitz, they added, “We’re gonna look at each other so hard.”
Bagel Therapy prepares for first show
The day of the show involved setting up the amphitheater following a day full of classes and other activities. Lopez Melgar and Leslie both came from a seminar class that ended less than an hour before the concert started.
As a college band, Bagel Therapy has a certain amount of home-grown charm. Leading up to the performance, Leslie practiced their singing entrances in their head. Instead of reserving the amphitheater for the band, they made the assumption that no one would be using it on a Wednesday afternoon. Some of their instruments and supplies came from the College — most notably, the drum kit.
Before the show, Lopez Melgar pushed a cart with the drums from Pratt down the lower campus road to the amphitheater. “When we had to go up[hill], it was great,” Lopez Melgar said sarcastically.
After the show, Leslie was tasked with returning the drums. “It was more downhill than I realized. I was trying to steer [the cart]. I was like, ‘I’m in Mario Kart,’” they explained, laughing. Turning serious, they added that the drums were returned in top-shape.
Musicians talk favorite cover songs
Zelkowitz’s favorite song is a cover of BØRNS’ “Electric Love,” an upbeat dance pop song about sweet infatuation. The song was proposed to the group by Yu.
“When she suggested it, I immediately thought of one of my favorite guitarists, Kiki Wongo, who is just this amazing metal guitarist,” Zelkowitz explained. “She did this cover of ‘Electric Love,’ but [made] it metal.” Zelkowitz learned Longo’s riff and added it to the Bagel Therapy cover, giving the song an edge.
Playing those riffs, Zelkowitz’s guitar reached out of the amphitheater and around the Mount Holyoke campus, pulling in spectators. She heard after the performance that their concert could be heard from as far away as Kendall Sports & Dance Complex, where the Rugby team was practicing.
Bagel Therapy showcased two other songs during their first performance. “Tungs,” a catchy vocal-driven song by The Frights, was used as their soundcheck and was performed later in the back half of Bagel Therapy’s set. With the repeating lines “Do you like my style/Have you seen my shoes,” Leslie’s stage presence shone. Wearing bright green Converse high tops, they kicked their foot out at the audience, giving a wide grin.
Lopez Melgar’ current favorite Bagel Therapy cover is “A Certain Romance” by Arctic Monkeys. As they explained how much they liked the band, they took off their backwards hat. On the front side was the Arctic Monkeys’ signature logo in its all-caps wavy font.
The song was the closer at their amphitheater performance. Leslie enjoys the song because it gives all the instruments time to shine with small solos and stand-out moments. “I really like getting to have moments where I get to watch each of you really wail on your instruments,” they said to their bandmates. “It’s so fun.” The song starts with a fast, heavy drum solo and builds into dueling guitars and cymbal crashes. Zelkowitz then takes it away, with a picking guitar solo backed by Yu’s steady chord progression. Finally, after nearly a minute, Leslie’s vocals begin.
In “A Certain Romance,” Bagel Therapy’s stage presence was dominating. Leslie’s vocals in particular exuded confidence. Throughout the song, they shrieked, yelled and sang in all parts of their range — all while dancing around in the sun.
Leslie’s vocal training background is in musical theater, but when taking guitar lessons at Mount Holyoke, they started working on their tone and honing a more indie rock sound. “I started focusing on the singer[s] that I like, like Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss [and] Jake Luppen of Hippo Campus,” Leslie said. “I like singers who have very unique voices.”
Leslie explained that they are working to unlearn the choral group mindset that all voices have to blend together. In their performance, they seemed to succeed at this goal. Their voice had angles and sharpness, with a whimsical delivery that added a flair of fun to intense songs like “Zombie” and shines on groovy tracks such as “Tungs.”
The performance in the amphitheater was Bagel Therapy’s first official show, but throughout the weeks leading up, they had a handful of open rehearsals. One, in the Pratt Hall fishbowl room, turned into an impromptu concert for a group of prospective students, their parents and a Mount Holyoke Admissions tour guide. At around noon, according to Leslie, the tour group was greeted by the sound of their screaming voice as the band rehearsed “Percolator” in preparation for their amphitheater performance.
“We had some windows open and there were some people walking by,” Leslie said. Lopez Melgar described a group of older women who passed by and flashed them all the “rock on” hand sign. “It was amazing,” Leslie said.
Band looks toward next semester
At the end of this semester, Zelkowitz is graduating from Mount Holyoke, vacating the guitarist spot in Bagel Therapy. Despite her impending absence, the band hopes to continue playing and performing together.
In their future performances, Bagel Therapy hopes to expand their catalog to include some original music. “I really want to bring in songs that I’m writing myself and have us work out how to play it in a full band,” Leslie said. Turning to the group, they added, “Y’all know your instruments really well. And I want to bring these ideas to you and have us build them together.”
The collaborative work of Bagel Therapy continues as they prepare for their next performance. On Friday, April 29, the band is playing in the amphitheater alongside local acts Trash Rabbit and Bent Spoon as a part of WMHC’s annual Radio Week.
Right now, though, the group seems to still be basking in their first performance. With a smile, Leslie reflected on the few times while performing that they could make out faces in the crowd. “I wanted to make some kind of connection with everybody who’s here today because I love that feeling when I see other people playing live music,” Leslie said. “I love having that connection.”
Editor’s note: Jenny Yu ’24 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.
