“If you can write a jingle for a product, why not for a city?” Eytan Nicholson asked himself when taking a jingle-writing class at Berklee College of Music.
That was in the spring of 2009. Three years later, “The Boston Song,” is a project-gone-viral.
After considering his own idea in Jon Aldrich’s class, Nicholson spent over a year mandating the perfect Boston anthem. In that time he met Vince Sneed, another Berklee student, through a mutual friend’s show.
“Eytan came to me and said he wanted to start a band,” said Sneed, “and I thought it would be cool to join a new band.”
Growing up in Seattle, Nicholson started jamming with friends at age 10 and was a jazz drummer for years until he experimented with different styles at age 14. He even made it onto Broadway’s “Stomp” a few years ago. He took up songwriting and piano upon enrollment at Berklee.
Sneed said his musical background was “basically non-existent” until he attended a five-week program at Berklee in 2008.
“Since I came here, I’ve grown as a musician. I play, sing and write,” he said. “Before, I just jammed to have fun.”
Comprising other scholarship students form their school, they formed a band called Sweet Tooth and the Sugarbabies. The band has played about 170 dates in the last year and is looking to book an international tour.
Working together as songwriters, Nicholson and Sneed also took up the anthem.
“The big idea with the project was to create something the different communities in Boston and New England could agree and vibe on. Then I brought the idea to Vince to write a Boston theme song,” said Nicholson. “Before actually writing the song, we took about six months to research to find the right tempo, instrumentations and topics. That helped us put together a formula for a Boston song.”
“So Good! (The Boston Song)” is now a hit combining traditional and current city elements. As soon as it was released, people all over the city picked up on it and requested The Boston Song to perform at schools like BC High and the South Shore Education Collaborative, as well as events like Fashion’s Night Out, TEDx New England, and the tree lightings at Newbury Street, Faneuil Hall and Boston Common.
The “So Good!” music video was filmed in familiar local spots like Fenway and the Charles River. “We picked places people could relate to,” said Sneed, “and people were always around watching.”
“We like to emphasize that people can take the song and use it in their own communities and make it theirs,” said Nicholson. “The music therapist [at South Shore Education Collaborative] introduced our song a few months ago to students, and asked us to visit and perform. It was a cool experience to see how different people use it; the kids responded really well, whether through singing and dancing, sign language or artwork.”
After attracting attention from local and regional news sources, Nicholson said they are now looking for a college push. The guys were guests on Suffolk Free Radio last Friday!
Nicholson and Sneed are also manning additional projects. Sweet Tooth and the Sugarbabies headlined The Boston Song Festival, which launched last September and featured local musicians Doug Trasher, Shea Rose, Alicia Lemke, MeVSGravity, and Lisa Bello. They’re planning this year’s festival to take place this summer.
As founders of WIDI Publishing, Nicholson and Sneed have a vision to create innovative ways for clients to approach the entertainment industry through a combination of business models. They host work like songs, jingles, anthems, and slogans.
The guys are seeking individuals interested in being involved with their work, currently music videos.
“We have a pretty eclectic mix of music,” said Nicholson. “The idea is to keep growing and doing different things.”
