Hot Bench - Term of Art (David Baik '27 & Finn McGillivray '27)

Finn McGillivray and David Baik recently released a self-titled EP as the band Term of Art.

Thank you guys for being here. I really appreciate it. Who are you? And where are you from, I guess? Let's do that.

Finn

Individually, or?

Yeah, individually. You could answer at the same time. It would be hard.

David

You want to go first?

Finn

I'm Finn McGillivray from Massachusetts.

David

David Baik from Lansdale, Pennsylvania.

Finn

And together, we're Term of Art, formed right here in Charlottesville.

You guys were in the same section, right?

David

Yeah. Section C. They’re all I need. That's how it all started.

How did you both figure out that you wanted to record an album together? I’m assuming you didn't come into law school wanting to do that. How did you figure out that this was like an artistic partner as well as, like, a friend?

David

Actually, in the months leading up to law school, I got into music production with my roommate from Baltimore, and we just messed around a lot, and it was something that I wanted to continue in law school, despite not ever really believing that I would be able to do it here. So, one way I tried to materialize that was just listening or looking out for people who are into music.  And when I heard that Finn played guitar, my instinct was just to ask him to jam, and the rest is history.

Finn

Yeah. For me, I play it. It was a little bit of a flip because I've grown up playing music: it was a huge part of my childhood; in high school, I had a band. I was like the music kid, and we did a lot of songwriting. And my parents ran an open mic growing up, so I was always songwriting and around these songwriters. And then—I always played my instrument—but I kind of fell away from it in college. And then David asked me to jam. The “Section C” song was like the first thing I had written in years, and I loved it. I was so happy with how it turned out. So we wanted to do the whole thing. But do you remember the first time we actually asked to jam was in the bathroom?

David

Yeah, after I think during Civ Pro, we'd get a break.

Finn

Yeah, you came up to me in the bathroom, so I couldn’t say no.

When did you guys do the recording? The first song was “Section C,” right, and the rest of it came later?

David

We wrote that in the fall. Got to perform it in front of our section at a professor's house.

Finn

Shout out Rutherglen.

David

Yeah, shout out Rutherglen. There was a hiatus until the summer when we found out we were both going to be RAs living in Charlottesville. We figured it was a perfect time to get in the recording studio, write more songs, and jam.

Finn

Yeah, and we recorded everything right here at UVA in the studio in Clemons Library. We were messing around, and we had been hanging out every day for the summer—because we both lived in Ivy too—and we just said, “Let's do like a weekend slumber party and write for a whole evening.” We wrote like all the songs in two days—everything other than “Section C.”

David

Over a span of, like, a week, we just wrote songs with melodic ideas we had before, but all the writing took place in a very short time.

Finn

Everything was so co-written, with the exception of one song from [David]. Like, at least the first three tracks are totally half-and-half.

You guys definitely captured a couple of things I really liked. You were protecting your peace, I think, as law students. A lot of the album is about trying to not give a shit about what other people are doing. And then some of it—I felt as someone who was also an RA over the summer—is just like, “What the hell am I doing?”

David

I think that encapsulates what we wanted to bring with this project. I mean, we're not trying to be purely ironic.

I didn't think it was ironic at all. I thought the whole thing was very from-the-heart. I don't know. I liked it.

Finn

I'd say a lot of it, too, was just the summer process. It's a little self-deprecating because everything in law school has a status assigned to it, and we were both here doing RA [jobs]. And also, the second summer thing was not going well. I think I can say that for both of us. If you're in that world, even though there were multiple of us, we probably felt pretty outside of the norm. So that's what fueled a lot of the more serious songs on the album.

David

And love. Your wife was pregnant. Pretty soon before her due date at the time, we were doing a lot of the writing.

Finn

Yeah, trying to get a job lined up, and there's so much good happening, but yeah, there was stress too.

What was the song that you wrote, David?

David

It was “Let’s Waltz.” And that was written when I went up to Baltimore to see the friend who I sort of started my music journey with. And I don't know—I wanted to write a love song as it was extremely pertinent to me at the time. I was talking with Rachel [Duffy ’27] over the summer.

Finn

It still is.

David

[Laughing] And it is, for sure. So I wanted to really write something from the bottom of my heart and soul.

Finn

And every album needs a love song, too. So it was perfect.

David

It was simple, fun, and Finn arranged the strings, and we got a section mate—Vivian [Zheng ’27]—to play it. I see it as my musical baby, this child of mine.

That's sweet. You had Vivian on strings Pietro [Guarisco ’27] was also in this as well. Were there any other section people?

Finn

Caroline Davidson [’27]. Pietro plays trombone, and Caroline plays trumpet on “RA Blues.”

Nice. I love it. It started as this love letter to the section, and then the section came in and filled out the ranks.

David

We found it very appropriate to try to incorporate their talents. I've heard someone refer to us as the “theater kids section.” Which I think is spot on. We had the most representation in Libel last year, and we’re just a talented, and—without its negative connotations—performative group. Us included.

It's very cool to have people you know write a whole album about something that you guys all went through together. Even though it’s obviously so pertinent to you guys and your section, and it's like a letter from the heart, it was very relatable. I didn't think that there would be anything like that at law school, especially in musical form. So thank you. Is there anything else you want to say about it?

David

I think we're just extremely proud to be able to put something out. Law school is obviously a very stressful time. To put something out that incorporates a lot of the things that we've experienced with our classmates . . . to make them laugh, to make them feel something. It’s one of the points of life to just do performance, to engage with music and writing.

Finn

Yeah, I'm just really proud. We have a product that we can look back on. It took way longer than either of us ever thought. When we said we were going to sit down and write it, it was implicit that we would record it all and finish it that summer as well. But obviously, it turned into something longer. Thank you to people that have listened to it, because it took so long, so it just means a lot that people listen to the twenty minutes. But I also hope people will be encouraged to do their own artistic endeavors in law school. It's a great thing. Whatever endeavor, whatever outlet you have, just try to keep it up.

As a guy who spends like, I don't know, four hours a week making a newspaper, I definitely see where you're coming from.

Finn

You can't do it for others, you gotta do it for yourself. But it's a bonus if people do take it in.

I think it'll be cool to listen to it in twenty years, right? Like, “holy shit, these guys wrote an album, and this was how I was feeling too.” Time capsule. All right, we'll do, like, a little lightning round. Favorite drink?

Finn

Moxie? Yeah. It's a New England soda. It’s like . . . I don't even know what it would be equivalent to.

David

Gin and tonic.

If you could be anywhere in the world right now—which maybe you will be, because we're going to spring break soon—where would you be?

Finn

Probably Vermont.

David

Thailand.

Thailand? We're getting very different answers here from the members of Term of Art. Favorite law?

David

Title VII.

Finn

I’ll go with IEEPA. [Says it like Trump] “IEE-PAH.”

[Laughter. Round of Trump impressions.]

Very pertinent.

Finn

Yeah, I'm going with IEEPA because it's fun to say.

It is fun to say. Favorite memories so far at Law School, besides, obviously, you guys recording an album together.

Finn

I’ll say of having a baby and then coming into class the next day and having Professor Mitchell roast me for being in class in front of everybody.

David

Oh God. Uh, one of the 3@3s.

One of them. They're blending together. All right. And then, if you have any advice for anyone else who's in the Law School; I guess the 1L's right now, they're having a turbulent time.

Finn

They might have it even worse than us.

We keep thinking it's not possible. I describe my entire process in law school as like being on the last helicopter out of ’Nam.

Finn

Yeah, so maybe that's my advice: to take solace in the fact that it probably could be worse and will be for the next class. I guess they'll be getting hired off of their LSAT score alone. Yeah.

David

Take a chance. Take a chance on love.

I love it. Beautiful. All right, anything else you want to share?

Finn

Might have something else in the works, a single. So stay tuned.

David

This isn't the last project.

Finn

Unless it is.

Your record label is McGillivray & Baik LLP? Is that right?

David

You can put the record label name as anything, so I just figured, you know . . . .

So it's not a real company? I can't, like, look that up in Delaware.

David

Sadly, no, but maybe someday. Okay. Yeah, we'll be a little litigation boutique. Uh, defending uh, people involved in the Epstein files.

Okay, awesome, great.

Finn

Actually, one of the proposed names for the album was The Baikstein Files.

The Baikstein Files?

Finn

Yeah, I wish we had gone with that, but [David] wouldn't let us, so.

Yeah, I can understand why. Oh man. All right, well, thanks, guys!