CHA grad's hip-hop band releases first CD

by ANNE BARR

A glance at the Chestnut Hill Academy Web site provides a view into the “diversity of experiences” the school seeks to provide for its students. Classical musicians, sporting events and school theatricals are all profiled. But is CHA likely to some day add a hip-hop group member named “Vision” to its list of visiting artists? Mike Fiebach, CHA ’03 and member of the underground hip-hop band “The Catastrofiks,” dreamed of doing “something out of the ordinary” during his days at CHA. As the summer approaches, Fiebach is finding that his dream is becoming reality and that he may wind up enriching the diversity of his alma mater.

Michael Fiebach grew up in Center City and attended the Philadelphia School through eighth grade. He credits his parents, a social worker and lawyer, with teaching him to value tolerance and understand the reality of injustice in the world. When it came time to choose a high school, Fiebach had a number of options and chose Chestnut Hill Academy because it was “something different.”

At that time in his life, Fiebach had never visited Chestnut Hill even once. Fiebach is clearly glad for the variety of experiences he was able to have during the course of his CHA studies. He played three years of basketball and even for a time showed off his singing capabilities by participating in an a cappella singing group. Eventually, however, Fiebach abandoned that style of vocalizing as being “too structured” for his style.

Hip-hop, on other hand, felt natural. He remembers loving rap from the time he was a little boy and recorded his first attempt at original work when in the sixth grade. “It’s really funny to listen to it now,” laughs Fiebach. Center City was a great place for a kid interested in music to grow up. Despite having taken his music to a number of different cities at this point in his life, Philadelphia remains Fiebach’s favorite city for just that reason. “The vibe here is great,” he claims. “The openness to new things in the musical community is fantastic.”

As he moved through his teenage years, Fiebach became increasingly aware that it was more than just musical style that drew him to the hip-hop scene. At CHA Fiebach had teachers, particularly in the history department, who built upon the values his parents had instilled in him.

“They taught us to question what was in the book,” says Fiebach, “to ask if what mainstream society presented was what was really going on.” This, says Fiebach, is the difference between mainstream hip-hop and what he and others refer to as “underground” hip-hop. The underground scene is, according to Fiebach, “a place where the lyrics can have real meaning, where you can even be political.”

Part of the reason Fiebach is called “Vision” is the particular interest he has in creating lyrics that talk about fighting oppression. “My parents gave me everything,” notes Fiebach. “I never really had to deal with the kinds of things other folks I have met have had to deal with.” But Fiebach asserts that his Jewish heritage is what helps him understand and want to fight oppression. He vividly remembers a childhood experience where a game called “catch the Jew” was being played.

Bridging the gap between mainstream hip-hop and music that can expound upon serious subjects is the particular mission of Fiebach and the rest of the Catastrofiks. All products of top-notch area high schools, the members of the band completed their CD, The Cirrcus, in August 2004. They started shopping it around and were seriously considered by a couple of major record labels.

Local hip-hop veteran Mr. Eon advised the band to release it themselves. This is when Fiebach approached fellow CHA graduate Eli Lewin Tankel about starting their own label. They decided to call their new business enterprise “Philosofikal Records” and landed a distribution deal with Morphius records.

Fiebach is excited about producer Mike Lowe, who has worked with a number of well-established hip-hop groups including The Roots, Flipmode Squad and Ness of Puff Daddy’s Da Band. The CD will be released on June 7 and will be available at Tower Records on Broad Street. A release party will be held on June 8 and will be hosted by Mr. Eon at 5 South Bank Street.

Chestnut Hill Academy’s mission statement indicates that by “providing a diversity of experiences in a challenging academic environment,” the school will produce young men who “aspire to high achievement and develop character, community spirit, intellectual curiosity and a lifelong dedication to learning.” Alums Mike Fiebach and Eli Lewin Tankel are clearly finding creative ways to embody the CHA spirit in the music of a new generation.

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