By infusing smooth melodies and improvisational solos into its members’ favorite pieces from video game soundtracks, High Ping levels up nostalgic tunes and brings a unique sound and passion to the Conway music scene.
High Ping puts a jazzy spin on pieces from platformers like “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Super Mario 64” and “Celeste” and to role-playing games like “Persona 5” and “Undertale.”
Junior health sciences major Christian Stephens said he started the band because of his “deep appreciation for video game music.”
“There is definitely a jazz influence in our sound, but we try and stick to the original music the best we can. One minute can sound like funk and the next could sound R&B,” he said.
The musicians started their last gig Sept. 9 with a bluesy piece from the “Persona 5” soundtrack, “Alleycat,” featuring prominent solos from saxophonist Stephens and bassist Ian Collins.
Stephens said, “We mainly focus on choosing music that is memorable and easily recognizable by most people. From there, we can find a majority of the music online.”
The members’ rich music experience gives High Ping the bandwidth to play complex pieces and make bold musical choices.
Simon Podsiadlik, a fifth-year senior at UCA, mans the vibraphone most gigs, quad-wielding mallets. He also helps find, arrange and reorchestrate pieces for the band to play.
But at High Ping’s last gig at Spec Ops Gaming Lounge, he brought bongos out for a piece from the “Donkey Kong” games, “Jungle Japes,” accompanying Stephens, who played tenor saxophone.
Podsiadlik said his favorite song to play with High Ping might be an arrangement of the “Undertale” title track that he and Stephens made while they were staying late at Snow Fine Arts.
“I’ve done a lot of arranging for that specific game. ‘Pokemon’ is also really fun, though, but I lean more toward the games that I grew up playing,” Podsiadlik, an engineering physics and percussion music performance major, said.
“I really like playing this genre of music, so it’s a blast every time I get to do it,” he said. “I’ve had many opportunities to improvise and formulate live grooves and solos on the spot, which is one of the things that makes live music so special.”
Stephens said he enjoys “laid-back” gigs like those at Spec Ops Gaming Lounge at 1004 Oak St., as they’re less formal than concert band performances.
“We often find ourselves able to be more expressive and have a stronger connection with our audience,” he said.
Stephens also equips an electronic wind instrument for some pieces, which he said took time to get used to playing.
Podsiadlik said, “There’s a chart from the game ‘Celeste’ called ‘Mirror Temple (Mirror Magic Mix),’ from the B-sides of that game, that I really, really enjoy playing. It’s just so groovy to play with this ensemble, and it has EWI; there’s trading off with vibes, EWI and guitar.”
Despite being named High Ping, its members are well-connected to the Conway music scene.
Stephens, bassist Ian Collins and drummer Caden Malott are in the student-led eclectic indie band Jupiter’s Fly Trap.
Stephens, Collins and Podsiadlik are also in UCA’s Studio Jazz Ensemble.
Besides Podsiadlik’s additional roles in the Conway Symphony Orchestra, the UCA Wind Ensemble and UCA’s percussion ensemble, he also plays percussion for a jazz group called Conwave, which Collins and Stephens have played for too.
Stephens said he’d like to see High Ping playing at other Conway spots like Full Moon Records, but in the meantime, High Ping is rehearsing for its Oct. 3 gig at Spec Ops and its Oct. 21 gig at Vino’s at 923 W 7th St. in Little Rock.