Vanderbilt alumnus Ben Musser will perform next week at the Douglas Corner Cafe to begin a weekend of commemoration for fellow Pi Kappa Alpha brother, Davis "Deeg" Sezna, who died on Sept. 11. This year, Pike will hold the 6th annual golf tournament in his name, in addition to numerous other events honoring Sezna's legacy. The proceeds of the weekend will benefit the Deeg Sezna Scholarship Fund.
Because golf was always Sezna's favorite pastime, every year a hundred or more alumni gather in Nashville to play in the commemorative tournament arranged and sponsored by Sezna's parents.
"Alumni from all over the United States come back to Nashville, from classes above him and below him, and we all play golf together," said senior George Repeczky. "It is a great way to respect and honor the memory of a brother in the Pi Kappa Alpha house who died in a tragic way."
In the Pi Kappa Alpha newsletter, alumnus Luke Davis writes, "Those who knew Deeg know that he was a brother who valued his family and the friends he made during his life more than anything else."
Musser, whose performance will kick off the commemoration, says Sezna had a special influence on both his life and his career as a musician.
"Deeg has everything to do with my music career. He got me a job at Columbia Records after my freshman year, and it was there that I met my manager, Alicia Gelernt," said Musser, who currently lives and works in New York.
Musser has performed his music live all over Nashville, including the Pike house, Rites of Spring and several venues downtown.
"I used to play music with another fellow at Vanderbilt, Scott Claassen, who graduated my year and is now a songwriter based in L.A," he said. To this day, Musser still performs material that he and Claassen originally wrote. However, he also works with new his band, Benyaro, which he started in 2005 with Tucker Yaro.
As a guitar player and vocalist, Musser met Yaro, also a singer and upright bass player, online on craigslist. It was not long afterward that they realized they lived within several streets from one another in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The two never missed a chance to play for the public and as a result, went from subway entertainment to appearing at venues throughout New York City.
Despite the fact that Benyaro as yet has no recorded material, they were able to open for Malcolm Holcombe in Tennessee and performed in other areas within Massachusetts, Virginia, Texas, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Meg Chamberlin, Musser's sister and vocalist, joined in 2006 to contribute to what he describes as a "unique acoustic roots sound" Musser and Yaro had developed by then. Besides Scott Claassen, several performers and groups that have served as influences for Benyaro are Ross Flournoy, Buena Vista Social Club, The Beatles, Ray Charles, Malcolm Holcombe and Paul Simon.
"For the past two years, I have tried to coordinate my schedule to be able to perform in Nashville and participate in the golfing weekend, and finally, this year I made it happen," Musser said.
Though he will be playing solo, a guest violinist will be joining Musser to promote the commemorative golfing event for Sezna. The show will be held on April 12 at the Douglas Corner Cafe on 8th Avenue South. For more information, visit Benyaro's Web site, http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=45621581.
