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February 19, 2021
Life After Witt

The Band Plays On

Alumni-Led Band Thomas And The Work-Men Announces Release Of New Song And Video
Thomas and the Work-Men

Two months after providing the entertainment for Wittenberg’s first-ever virtual holiday concert, Thomas and the Work-Men, a “five-piece alt rock funk group delivering grooves and good times from Columbus, Ohio,” debuts its latest single “Why Can’t I Ever Say No” today, Feb. 19, via Free Dive Records.

The song is available via various streaming platforms, including Apple Music and Spotify. The release will be followed by a virtual show that will stream live on YouTube on Wednesday, Feb. 24, and the video for the song, filmed primarily near Wittenberg’s campus in Springfield, will be released to the public on YouTube on Friday, March 5.

Four of the five band members in Thomas and the Work-Men are Wittenberg graduates: singer and guitarist Gino Frederico, class of 2016, saxophonist Luke Mullins, class of 2016, singer and guitarist Matt Miely, class of 2016, and drummer Thomas Workman, class of 2017. They are joined by Matthew Luebbers, who replaced the original bassist, Ryan Parmater, class of 2016, two years ago.

The band has spent the last few years touring the country and playing shows in cities such as Nashville, Charlestown, and Chicago. Alumni connections have been important to the band’s success, culminating with the unique holiday concert that was recorded in Commencement Hollow in November and presented to the Wittenberg community on Dec. 18, 2020.

Prior to the release of “Why Can’t I Ever Say No,” the band’s most recent musical project “Good Company” earned positive reviews and debuted at #4 in the Top Albums on Apple iTunes Top 200 behind superstar recording artist Taylor Swift and the soundtrack from the smash-hit musical Hamilton.

Like every other recording artist, the lack of opportunities to perform in front of live audiences over the last year has presented tremendous challenges. For now, Frederico says, “we’re continuing to write new music, and we’re working to establish a strong online presence through social media and live-stream shows.”

For more information and artist updates visit https://www.workmenmusic.com/.

Band Members Reflect On Their Wittenberg Experience

“At Wittenberg, I had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people who were involved in so many different things.”
Thomas Workman '17
“We’ve booked our own tours in cities we’ve never been to before (crashing on fellow Witt alumni’s couches), we’ve been involved in several awesome philanthropic events connected to Wittenberg (i.e Chase Life and Bloom Foundation events), and we had an awesome turnout at our Wittenberg Alumni Virtual Holiday Concert that took place this past December and even got to talk with Witt’s president Michael Frandsen.”
Gino Frederico '16
“Gino and I met through taking music courses at Wittenberg. We played in the Jazz Ensemble together for 3 years, took several music theory courses led by Dr. Kazez, and were introduced to Ableton by Dr. Jones. Ableton is the program we use to demo all of our original music and taking that class really ignited my interest in creating and releasing music.”
Luke Mullins '16
“Personally, attending Witt did a ton for my own confidence and really helped me break out of my shell both socially and musically. I had the opportunity to perform at WittFest on more than one occasion and to play music with other people as opposed to solo in my bedroom. It really was a great place to test the waters of performing and really fall in love with it.”
Matt Miely ‘16
Ryan Maurer
Ryan Maurer
Associate Director of Athletics for Communications, Web Strategy & Content

About Wittenberg

Wittenberg's curriculum has centered on the liberal arts as an education that develops the individual's capacity to think, read, and communicate with precision, understanding, and imagination. We are dedicated to active, engaged learning in the core disciplines of the arts and sciences and in pre-professional education grounded in the liberal arts. Known for the quality of our faculty and their teaching, Wittenberg has more Ohio Professors of the Year than any four-year institution in the state. The university has also been recognized nationally for excellence in community service, sustainability, and intercollegiate athletics. Located among the beautiful rolling hills and hollows of Springfield, Ohio, Wittenberg offers more than 100 majors, minors and special programs, enviable student-faculty research opportunities, a unique student success center, service and study options close to home and abroad, a stellar athletics tradition, and successful career preparation.

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