John Galusha (pronounced guh LOOSH uh) is a student at Bowdoin College who already has plenty of lines on his resume. He has, at various times over the years, played tuba, trombone and baritone horn; he’s played football and lacrosse and done wrestling; now he’s majoring in music and women’s/gender studies. Not one of those pursuits brought him onto our radar, though. We talked to him because he’s really good at beatboxing.
Beatboxers create sounds with their mouths that imitate those generated by a drum machine or a percussion instrument. “It’s wild. It’s expressive,” says Galush—that’s what everyone calls him and it’s the name he performs under—with unmistakable enthusiasm. “I’ve always had the music in my head. I’ve heard all these songs that I’ve wanted to sing, and not having to rely on an eight-piece band to make them sound the way I want to is so compelling to me because I don’t have to rely on anyone else.”
This week Galush heads to Toronto to compete in a beatbox event that draws dozens of performers from around the world. When the competition is over, he’ll return to Brunswick, where he’ll spend the summer working on his first album. And what does he have in mind for that project? He flashes a broad smile. “Well,” he says, “you’ll just have to wait and find out, won’t you?”