Pablo's Dove: art for art's sake
By Jon Emerson

ORU has produced many on-campus bands, each coming from a unique, if not entirely original, perspective. Yet many of these groups never see the light of a concert stage. One notable exception is Pablo's Dove, a band formed in the summer of 1999. The following profile is based on an interview with lead singer Leah Patty and drummer Rob Merkle.

Pablo's Dove is composed of Patty, Merkle, lead guitarist Matt Corder and Abby Beeghliy, who provides back-up vocals, rhythm guitar and keyboards. The group is currently "praying for a bass player."

The band was created from the initial efforts of Patty and Beeghliy, who were interns at Teen Mania's Honor Academy. According to Patty, "Pablo's Dove" became the band's name when she and Beeghliy looked at Picasso's famous Dove of Peace. The dove, which was chosen offhandedly, now symbolizes to the band the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove when He was baptized.

Patty described the band's style as "heavy folk," arising mainly from the band's distorted acoustic guitar basis. Pablo's Dove has been compared to groups like the Cranberries, Sixpence None the Richer or "pretty much any rock group with female vocals," Patty said.

As far as influences go, Merkle mentions the Dave Matthews band and Patty says her vocal style was influenced by her experiences singing in a gospel choir and by people like Whitney Houston. Concerning the influences on guitarist Corder, both Patty and Merkle agree "he should be from Europe, except he's from Kentucky." Meanwhile, Beeghliy's musical background is in classical piano, an instrument on which she had many years of training.

When I listened to Dove's yet unreleased single, "Up From the Desert," I was extremely impressed. The band's sound is admirably unique, characterized by modal tendencies and striking instrumental backing. The same people who had implied that on-campus bands could be much better were silenced when they heard the CD. Dove shows that there are great bands here making music people would buy.

Pablo's Dove has no immediate plans to go back into the recording studio, although the two members I interviewed both expressed a desire to eventually record extensively. They said they will be having something to sell in the near future. In the meantime, the band is focusing on performance.

When asked whether or not they consider Pablo's Dove a ministry, Patty and Merkle gave an interesting response that might be a bit unusual in the realm of Christian music and Christian entertainment in general. Merkle said that while "the band wants to express God through the music," Dove's unofficial motto is "Art for art's sake."

In that regard, Pablo's Dove has something in common with bands like U2. Simply put, making great music is a goal in itself and will bring glory to God by its merit.

Usually more than one of the members contributes to the birth of a song, with one writing perhaps the words, another adding the melody and with the others giving suggestions. The band does not generally do covers, but Patty said they have redone songs by an indie-folk band named Over the Rhine, which has captured a sort of cult following among music enthusiasts.

If college bands face a challenge - other than simply getting their names out to the masses - it is deciding what to do after graduation. None of themembers of Pablo's Dove are music majors, so it is unlikely that any of them will have an intimate involvement in music after the dissolution of the band, if that ever occurs. "We are all enjoying the band thing right now," Patty said.

As far as the future, "It depends on where we are," Merkle said. This writer, for one, hopes that where they "are" is signed with a record label.

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