Students seeking out live music in Carlisle may have to look no further than Stern and Denny Halls for their next entertainers. A three-professor ensemble that has come to be known as the Faculty Band is willing and excited to play at any Dickinson event where they are requested.

The band consists of three faculty members: Edward Webb, associate professor of Political Science and International Studies; Shawn Bender, associate professor of East Asian Studies; and Cotton Seiler, associate professor of American Studies. According to Seiler, the band plays “70s and 80s pop, and a little bit of R&B… like Prince, Human League, the Police and some older stuff like Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan…. I’m more interested in Punk and New-Wave and occasionally they indulge me.”

He added that the band plays at the request of community organizations.

“We don’t seek out gigs, we sort of [play shows] as something fun for the community,” Seiler said. “We tend to play when we’re invited.”

Seiler recalls that the best gig the band ever played was at the College Farm during Senior Week in 2014.

“The seniors asked us to play,” Seiler said. “What was so great was not us, it was that the seniors got so into it, and some got up on stage and joined in. Some sang and played stuff with us, and it was just a great party.”

Each of the band’s members is a multi-instrumentalist.  Seiler plays drums, guitar and sometimes bass, Bender plays the keyboard and drums and Webb plays the bass and guitar.

Seiler said he does not have a music background and does not even read music, but rather plays by ear.  Throughout high school, college and graduate school he performed with bands that played “exclusively original music.”

The Faculty Band was born in 2008 after Seiler had been “looking for people to play with in Carlisle for years.”

“[Bender] and I started informally playing together, and [Webb] joined us a little later…. It started out as us just getting together and having fun…. Playing with [Webb and Bender] is really fun and just a great release,” Seiler said.

“We’d love to play for students; we’d love to play for the community. Just ask us and we’ll come,” Seiler added.

Anyone who wants to book the Faculty band for a performance can reach out to its members by email.