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Jammin' Just for the Fun of it by Jude Sunderland March 21, 1986

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     They started out as The Shoplifters.  Then they became Ali Baba and the Flying Carpets.  Now, they are just Ali Baba, a high school band of four out to have a good time.

     Ali Baba is, of course, George Mason's oldest musical group.  There are surely only a few people who haven't at least heard them, if not actually heard them play.

     Although there's some confusion within the group as to exactly how they started, the most common story goes like this:  Joe Cheek, lead guitarist and Matt McCullough, drummer, got together three years ago while taking English in summer school.  They then joined talents with Jeff Miers, on bass guitar, and Tim Dunn, who does rhythm guitar and vocals.

     Ali Baba is mostly an imitation band.  They play mostly oldies, from the 50's and 60's.  As Matt says "stuff that is fun to listen to and easy to dance to."  Their tunes have floated through the halls of GM many times, starting with their first gig, the 1985 Junior Variety Show, and on to a middle school dance, and a fun luncheon concert in honor of Sophomore day in 1985 as well.

     The biggest show they ever did was in the International Children's Festival in September of last year at Wolftrap.  The group agrees that it was a big chance for them, but they "blew it."  They were on the second biggest stage in the festival, but the band just didn't click together.

     Leader Dunn blames lack of practice as the reason for the Wolftrap let down.  This seems to be the band's main problem: the few and far between practice sessions.  The members have other commitments, and most of the time, rehearsals take low priority.

     It's obvious that the theme of Ali Baba's existence is fun.  The members are all close friends (sarcastic jokes aside), and they simply enjoy getting together and playing the songs they like.  As Joe explains, "We're a bunch of guys who would gladly give up our high school careers for millions of dollars, world fame, and a constant supply of women, but we're just too busy with homework.