NYU alum's band gains respect in the city

"And now … give it up ladies and gentlemen for Bury Me a Lion!"

Applause and screams fill the dim room, lights go off and the spotlight hits lead singer Jarett Gilbert. He stands, eyes closed, facing the crowd.

Earlier this year, Gilbert finished his NYU thesis on the elite classes in Colombia and Venezuela. But he said, "My career goals have changed numerous times ... and my academic and professional interests have shifted."

Gilbert has been interested in music since childhood. He played bass guitar in grade school and always wanted to start a band with his friends. But he has only recently embraced that goal and has made music a part of his professional career.

"Music is essentially storytelling. You want to convey a message or an emotion to your listener and have them relate to it, understand it," Gilbert said. "If I could share my stories and emotions, professionally, that would be incredible."

Gilbert began searching Craigslist last fall for bands seeking singers, eventually responding to an ad placed by a guitarist named Sam Einhorn.

"Sam told me he had been playing with an incredible drummer, Luca Pironti, and wanted to get all three of us together," Gilbert said.

By mid-September that year, they were all together and creating music. And in February this year, Bury Me a Lion was born.

"Luca stumbled across Evan Hammer, our bassist, on MySpace," Gilbert said. "We invited him out, and the rest is history. We've been playing together ever since."

Einhorn writes the music, and Gilbert writes lyrics.

"As a group, we work to arrange the music in a way we think listeners will like it most," Gilbert said. "I think we write great music, and our live show is getting better every time we play."

He added that although it can be difficult to convince venues that the band will draw crowds, it's a challenge for which Bury Me a Lion is prepared.

"We started at an open mic at Crash Mansion on Bowery," Gilbert said. "It was a crazy time, but basically, everyone loved our sound. That gave us the confidence we needed to send out booking inquiries across the city."