When Gary Radford, an associate professor of communication at William Paterson, needs a break from the academic tedium, he picks up his guitar to join four other professors in a band named, appropriately -- "The Professors."

The band, formed about two years ago, plays a mix of blues, rock and heavy metal. Besides Radford, its members include Stephen Cooper, J, T-ski, and Robert Kubey. J teaches at Fairleigh Dickinson University; the others teach at Rutgers University. Most of the members became connected through their student/professor mentor relationships. Kubey was originally Radford's instructor and dissertation committee member; J, the band's vocalist, who received her bachelor's and master's degrees from William Paterson and just completed her doctorate at Rutgers, was one of Radford's students.

Last month "The Professors" got their first major gig in New York City at Kenny's Castaways on Bleeker Street. "To play in New York City was like a dream come true," said Radford. They also performed for 400 people at the annual conference of the International Communication Associationin Chicago last May, and this coming September 2 the group is expected to perform at William Paterson for the campus-wide, all-day celebration of its new status as a university.

Radford, who has played guitar since he was 13, has written some of the songs for the band."About half the material is original," he says, and many of the group's songs relate to their academic life. The group has its own website at http://www.theprofessors.net and hopes to produce a CD someday soon. Considering the group's talent and novelty, Radford is also hoping for a chance at a television appearance on a show like "Late Night with David Letterman."