To Arms!

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Fly Away	5:45	Play
2		All The Way	5:50	Play
3		Soft Side of Her Bones	4:42	Play
4		Prison	5:00	Play
5		Mind	5:50	Play
6		Radio	5:40	Play
7		Laura's Song	5:14	Play

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Description

Oculus (which means "eye" in Latin) is a visionary new band from Ithaca, NY. Brothers and Friends, Oculus bring crowds to life and unite people of all different generations and backgrounds through profound, playful, and charismatic performances.

Press from the Pipe Dream, October 1st, 2004
Oculus branches out to politics and songs
By Rachel Kalina
Staff Writer

The lead singer of Oculus, Aidan Makepeace, has a fitting last name that expresses both his political views and the message he wishes to spread through his music. These views filled the Undergrounds Coffee House on Thursday night. When asked whether or not Makepeace has legally changed his last name to its current form, he just smiles in response. His brother Finian, the band's drummer, is further proof of their surname's legitimacy.

Their family-oriented mentality spurred the brothers to create a close-knit band. Hailing from Ithaca, NY, Aidan explains that all the members of Oculus, including Jake Roberts and Will Evett-Miller, grew up there and have spent much time living together making music.

While its roots may be homegrown, Oculus has toured in Brazil and elsewhere abroad. The Makepeace brothers also spread the music overseas while simultaneously studing for a semester abroad in London last fall.

Introducing the group's song "Pale Blue Dot," which is based on a satellite picture of the Earth, Aidan said we should all recognize "how small this Earth is and how this is all that we have." Oculus' peaceful, anti-war songs successfully convey their passionate beliefs.

The band's mix of styles ranges from rock, worldbeat and rap to slow and poetic verses. Oculus knows how to play the crowd just as well as it plays its instruments. Their contagious enthusiasm infiltrates the entire room as the band encourages the audience to clap with the rhythm of their songs and welcomes their listeners' interpretations of their songs throughout the show.

Their lyrics often try to convey a message, and if their advocation of filling out voter registration forms is any indication, Oculus is bold in voicing their political inclinations.

Aidan points out that the group's first album cover (To Arms, 2001) depicts the world's children trying to take a sword from an adult's hand. The cover was created just after 9/11, and it is a declaration of their anti-war feelings. In continuing this message, the band performs a song Aidan wrote called "Playground," which is about signing up for the draft and the cycle of violence in the world. The lyrics state "Tell young boys it's your pride or your life... I'm 18; I swear I'm a man. I'll be damned if you want me to sign up to kill another man."

The cover of their second album, The Smallest Blue (2003), exhibits a scar on the earth which is in the shape of their insignia. Aidan feels it is significant because it forces one to think, "Where are we? On this tiny rock in the middle of nowhere." He said that the world would be a much better place to live if everyone could take this perspective and "appreciate humanity." Aidan talks about how people are so ready to devour resources such as oil, and he said that this type of "pettiness is overrated."

"There is a wound in the Earth and we can heal that wound, take care of the Earth, and live for many years to come," Aidan said.