Symptoms: irregular drumbeats and harmonic vocals, contagious to eardrums across northern Colorado.
Diagnosis: Tit-for-Tat, a cover band formed by Colorado State University veterinary students who sought jammin’ tunes as a way to unwind on a hard day’s night.
The band has had just two members: Matt Hay-Roe, a third-year vet student, on keyboard, guitar and vocals; and Chrissy Geserick, a fourth-year D.V.M. student, on drums and back-up vocals.
The student musicians had a simple concept when they joined a couple years ago and played their first gig at Lucky Joe’s Sidewalk Saloon in Old Town Fort Collins. They imagined all-request shows, allowing audience members to select virtually any song by any artist – from Bon Jovi to Nicki Minaj – by putting money in a tip jar.
“As a veterinary student with bills, I couldn’t say no,” Geserick said, recalling her initial reluctance to join the band.
A great stress reliever
Functioning as a human jukebox proved a great release from the rigors of veterinary school and the stresses of working with animal patients at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. And these student rockers aren’t alone in their full-tilt boogie after hours. Many students, faculty and staff in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences pursue hobbies and activities – whether artwork, rock climbing or triathlons – with such gusto that, even during their off hours, these people are on.
“I knew veterinary school was going to be tough, but I wanted to find a way to keep music in my life,” Hay-Roe said of starting Tit-for-Tat. “The further we get into vet school, the harder it is to find time for our music. But music will always be a part of me. It helps me make the most of my time outside of school.”
And the band moniker?
“We wanted a name that reflected how we do our shows, keeping it fun and sassy,” Hay-Roe said. “With Tit-for-Tat, we’re playing your show. I love performing and seeing people’s reactions when we do something that no one would ever expect.”
Reviewers give the band’s all-request shows a solid three of five stars.
“Matt and Chrissy have an unbelievable repertoire and are always fun to listen to,” said Dr. David Van Metre, a CSU veterinary professor. “They have great back-and-forth banter with each other and the crowd.”
A love for science and music
Geserick is interested in a career practicing small-animal emergency medicine, while Hay-Roe is pursuing mixed veterinary medicine, with a variety of species, both large and small.
Before they fell for veterinary medicine, both students fell in love with music. Hay-Roe began playing chopsticks on his preschool teacher’s piano, and Geserick learned she had a knack for rhythm at an elementary-school assembly.
“I remember being told I could clap really well,” she said, laughing. “Then in middle school, I joined the marching band because I wasn’t good at volleyball.”
Geserick has been drumming for many years and played with the University of Colorado marching band before graduating with a degree in biology. “Music is my way of staying sane. It gives me a nice release,” she said.
Likewise, Hay-Roe has played piano since he was a kid, picking up guitar along the way, and performed at dueling piano bars as an undergraduate at the University of Arizona.
“I decided what I wanted my career to be while working at a veterinary clinic in high school,” Hay-Roe said. “If money were no object, I would probably work half-time as a veterinarian and play music the other half.”
