The sound of Two Paper Squares is accompanied by excited chatter from familiar audience members. The twang of the mandolin and the partnering guitar pick up a meticulous melody, reining listeners in. The two pairs of boots attached to the band members tap rhythmically to their homemade tune that captures hints of folk and bluegrass. Their set will continue on steadily, and the crowd full of their college friends will remain ecstatic throughout.
Two Paper Squares is a local band that adds a unique sound to the music scene in San Luis Obispo. They mesh their individual backgrounds together to create a mix of different genres. The two members, Dylan Fergusson and Orion Cicoletti, have been playing together for the last couple years– Cicoletti on the mandolin and Fergusson on the guitar. Recently releasing their third song to Spotify, the band has continued to grow since its start, along with their community of friends that have allowed them create “an ecosystem of it all”.
The current band mates met in their freshman year at Cal Poly while surfing with a mutual friend. They started their jam sessions off and on when the two became next-door neighbors to each other on Mill Street. The now fourth years would later go on to publish their music to Spotify under the fake record label, Under Mill Records, in order to work around the platform’s publishing rules.
A year after they formed their band, they released their first EP in April of 2023. The self-titled release, “Two Paper Squares,” consists of two songs, “Bark Beetle” and “Drifting Away.” All created in Fergusson’s basement-like bedroom, the two recorded the songs with a microphone bought off Ebay and Fergusson’s knowledge of the music production app Logic, which he taught himself how to use. Once their friend Kylan O’Connor added the finishing touches by mastering the two songs, they were ready to be released for friends and fans alike.
The two members grew up in different musical environments, which ultimately contributes to their sound of blended genres. Fergusson, who describes himself as the “black sheep” of his non musically inclined family, picked up the ukulele at age 12 and transitioned to the guitar shortly after. He grew up on the North Shore of Oahu, HI, listening, and then eventually learning slack key guitar, a fingerstyle genre of music that originated on the islands.
On the other hand, Cicoletti’s musical history is deeply rooted in the genre of bluegrass. His family’s musical upbringing was heavily influenced by his dad’s bluegrass band, “The Smiley Mountain Band.”
“I’m not the singer, I’m the mandolin guy,” Cicoletti said. The process of writing lyrics with Fergusson for their EP had been a new experience for him. His musical upbringing was strictly instrumental in his family’s musical endeavors. He grew up in North Fork, a small town near Yosemite National Park, where his sisters took the vocal lead. The two have grown into telling their stories through lyricism, as well as with their instruments.
Months after the release of their first EP, Cicoletti was working a shift at a local outdoor retail store, where he found his next inspiration for a song. A man, with a glint of hope in his eye, peeked his head into the establishment and vigorously asked if the store carried gold pans.
“No man, it’s 2023,” Cicoletti responded, and continued his day until a melody formed in his head on his ride home later that night.
“I’ll just start speeding home because I need to hear it out before it leaves my head. It’s almost like a cloud passing through, it rains in that little section,” Cicoletti said, accompanied by agreeable nods from Fergusson. Cicoletti created the first verse and the chorus that night, and Fergusson finished writing the second verse soon after.
“San Joaquin,” referring to the San Joaquin River near Cicoletti’s hometown, was produced and mastered in the same way as the first EP, and is now the third song Two Paper Squares has released to Spotify. This time the band added accompanied vocals from Ada Ellisman, a longtime friend of Cicoletti’s.
Ellisman recalled meeting Cicoletti at a campsite their summer before eighth grade. Their families bonded over their love for bluegrass music around a campfire in Silver Lake, CA, and the two musicians have been connected ever since. Although Ellisman learned to love bluegrass later in her life, the melancholic sound of her voice pairs perfectly with the plucking of the mandolin, coexisting with the twang of “San Joaquin.” She is one of the many friends within the community that Two Paper Squares has created on its journey.
“It’s not like people we are seeking out, they’re just like people that are part of our friendships,” Cicoletti said, mentioning all of the individuals involved with creating the band’s image. Their friends provide videos, photos, and even the production of merchandise, using the original art that Cicoletti, a graphic design major, creates for the band.
“It’s a nice excuse to just basically fuck off all the rules I have to follow in my design classes,” Cicoletti said, “Like this is my album, this is my art, this is my thing, and I’m doing it however I want.”
The two bandmates are looking forward to experimenting with new music, trying different genres and focusing on the storytelling and the variety that comes with creating an album. In the meantime, they will continue to play at venues with the support from their friends, or to those who pass by the front yard of their houses on a sunny day.
“It’s been cool just creating an ecosystem of it all,” Fergusson said. Their faces are matched in optimism and excitement. It’s only just begun.
Grace Bender is part of the SLO community. She wrote the article. Kaley Schneider is our Physical Media Director. She, along with Abbott Swanson, our Art Director, created the artwork.
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