Tom Liggett

Artists Genevieve Williams, a third year Advertising Photography major on ukulele and lead vocals, and Brittany “B” McEntee, a third year Professional and Technical Communications major on ukulele and backing vocals.

They aren’t your typical guitar-slinging, pop-song-composing female singer/ songwriters of this age. They don’t want you to “stay” and they don’t sing about the ironies of life. They’ve substituted the guitar, a “singer/songwriter’s best friend,” with its younger sibling, the ukulele, and they’ve carved their own niche in the RIT music scene.

Regulars at lovin’ cup’s Tuesday open mic nights, Williams and McEntee have a unique style. “We take [some] outrageous stuff and we make it into a more soft, indie, chill, girl-music type of thing,” described Williams. She wasn’t exaggerating; they’re currently working on perfecting their version of T.I.’s “Whatever You Like.”

Although Williams and McEntee usually play covers (since they’ve only just started up), they are also working on some originals. However, Williams is very particular about the covers they play. “I strongly believe that when you cover a song, you should change it around enough to make it your own, but still honor the artist that sang it because you’re never going to be able to sing it exactly like they can,” she explained.

Williams and McEntee have very different stories about getting started. Williams tried both piano and guitar but they didn’t stick. Eventually Williams picked up singing, but when she started joining choruses, she realized that she hated singing in choirs. “I was like, ‘I’m going to go solo!’” she joked. By the time she got to RIT, she was comfortable enough to sing at open mic nights, where she met a number of people to collaborate with.

Unfortunately, sometimes her friends wouldn’t show up, but Williams still wanted to perform, so she picked up the ukulele to accompany her voice. “I was sick of having to rely on guitar players,” she said. A month later, she entered RIT’s Tiger Idol and won second place.

For McEntee, on the other hand, “it all started with a piece of [crap] clarinet that my mom bought for me in the fourth grade.” Today, she can play six or seven variations of the clarinet and has performed with several orchestras within the state area. In high school, she joined the drum line and was later invited to tour Europe with an orchestra with which she had played percussion.

What makes McEntee’s story more interesting is that she’s deaf in one ear. However, you would never have known unless she told you. “My band teachers from the fourth grade never knew...until I was in high school,” she recounted. Although the hearing impediment makes it difficult for her to hear lower pitches, she doesn’t mind. What’s important is that no one treats her differently because of it. “To me, I should have every equal opportunity as everyone else picking up a ukulele,” said McEntee.

Genevieve and B will continue to play at lovin’ cup’s open mic nights as often as they can.