Walking to the Beat

The Story So Far performing at Warped Tour 2014. (PHOTO BY WOOD)

Now that I’ve ranted about my least favorite part of music festivals, I’m going to talk about the best parts (in my opinion) of summer music-fests.

1. You get to see a bunch of bands for a small amount of money.

Bunbury 2014 (PHOTO BY WOOD)

This summer, I only went to two music festivals: Bunbury and Warped Tour. Bunbury was great because I saw Fall Out Boy, Paramore, New Politics, and a few other local bands for about $70 total. I also got to see the look on my little sister’s face when she saw Fall Out Boy (her favorite band) live, so that was pretty great. At Warped Tour, I saw several of my favorite bands for only $50.

2. You see old friends and meet new ones. 
At Bunbury, I met up with my cousin and his girlfriend (who happens to be one of the lead-managers of Bunbury, Midpoint, and Buckle-Up). I only get to see them a few times a year, so I love getting to see and talk with them while listening to some great music. I also saw a few friends who graduated a few years ago, and we talked for a few minutes between shows. Finally, during one set, a lovely couple helped my little sister see the stage by holding her up on their shoulders.

At Warped Tour, a few friends who live two-three hours away came to Cincinnati to see the festival. A ton of my friends from Cincinnati also went. Seeing them together all at one time was amazing. I also met and had conversations with several people, which was great because I love talking to new people. It always amazes me how music can bring people together.

3. You (obviously) make memories.

I was waiting in line to meet Real Friends, so naturally, I had to take a selfie with them in the background. Warped Tour 2014. (PHOTO BY WOOD)

This summer was one I’ll never forget, mostly because of the festivals I went to. Seeing some of the bands live was so surreal and overall just an absolutely incredible experience. I never thought I would have been able to see Fall Out Boy live because their concerts always sell out quickly and are so expensive. I also saw some of my favorite bands that rarely come to Cincinnati, and I even met one band (which was incredible). I also crowd-surfed for the first time ever…it was probably the most exciting thing I’d done all summer.

I can’t stress enough how amazing music festivals are. If you ever have the opportunity to go to one, take advantage of it. Just ignore the negatives (like the crashers), and you’ll have a great time!

As we all know, summer is prime time for music festivals. It seems as though there’s a different one every weekend, no matter where you are.

Bunbury Music Fest, 2014.
Fans and crashers alike jam to Bunbury bands.
PHOTO VIA WCPO.COM

For true music lovers, this is amazing. Others use the festivals solely as a means of portraying a certain image or ideal, rather than just enjoying the music. We all know who these people are, so I’ll leave out most of the ugly details of these festival crashers.

The thing about these crashers, as I’ll refer to them for the rest of this post, is that they ruin the vibe for everyone else who truly enjoys and wants to hear the music. They clutter up the crowd and scream the whole time (because they don’t know the lyrics to any of the songs), drowning out the actual band. Crashers also love to show off their “music fest fashion.” It’s rare to find one of these crashers in anything more than a bandeau top, high-waisted shorts, and about a pint of body paint. Flower crowns are also fairly common, but not necessary to complete the look. It’s astounding to me that these people spend so much time, energy, and (most importantly) money on these festivals.

Nonetheless, irritating people will be omnipresent throughout our whole lives, so we just have to get past it and enjoy our own; the crashers won’t deter me from continuing to follow my passion: live music.

This week, I’ve had an awful sore throat. I’ve been gargling salt water, taking medicine, and only having liquids (as I can’t really swallow solids anyway). Nothing is working. To make matters worse, we’ve been rehearsing in chorus all week. We have our final concert coming up, so we’re learning new songs and hammering out the old ones. I haven’t been able to sing at all.

Again, to make matters even worse, tonight is Junior Prom. I’m hoping that my throat clears up by about 6pm.

Prom is right around the corner, so anyone who hasn’t asked their date is in full panic mode. Since I’m bringing someone who has just graduated, I’m the one who has to ask. For weeks, I’ve been trying to figure out the perfect way to ask, when finally, I saw how a friend of mine asked someone. He made a playlist, with the first letter of each word spelling out “prom.” Since I’m a huge music fan, and so is my date, I figured this would be the perfect way to ask. The only problem I have now is which songs to pick. So far, I’ve picked “Perth” by Bon Iver…I still have three more songs to choose. Wish me luck!

The high school’s annual spring musical was this weekend. This year, we produced the Broadway version of Beauty and the Beast. Of course, I was involved (as I have been in every production at my school since 7th grade), but I decided to just work on sound his year rather than perform onstage. Since I was on sound, I was only at three rehearsals before opening night, but that was enough to completely astound me. The transformation from Monday’s rehearsal, which was less than impressive to say the least, to Sunday’s final performance was unbelievable.

Personally, I never thought it would be possible to follow up last year’s absolutely stunning performance of Anything Goes because we lost so many talented seniors, but somehow, this cast did it. Each and every member of the cast was incredible. Gavin Smith, the Beast, made such an incredible improvement (vocally) from auditions to the final performance. I never would have believed that he would be able to make such a transition, but he did it.

Hunter Thiers, Mrs. Potts, and Santi Martinez, Lumierre, were absolutely stunning. Both vocalists have natural talent, but I never knew how talented either of them are. Audience members from each show admitted that Hunter’s solo, “Beauty and the Beast,” made them tear up. Santi’s feature song, “Be Our Guest,” blew me away the first time I heard it. I never had any idea how talented the freshman who I see every day in chorus really is.

All in all, the musical was incredible. Seeing it all come together on performance weekend made me truly regret not being on stage, even as a chorus member.

Today, I’ll be journeying to the annual OJCL Latin Convention, which is two and a half hours away. The ride will be on a puttering yellow bus, filled with over-excitable teens, so it will be pretty difficult to fall asleep like I plan to do. Luckily, I have a stockpile of songs that are loud, but soothing, enough to drown out most of the white noise on the bus.

For any type of long car ride, my go to artist is The Avett Brothers. They’re an alternative folk band, and their music is phenomenal. I’ve been listening to The Avett Brothers since the summer before eighth grade, when my friend Jack introduced me to the wonderful music. The first song I’d heard was “January Wedding,” and it blew my mind. I immediately downloaded every song I could. I don’t have all of their songs, but I have a solid 42 of their greatest pieces, coming to a grand total of 155 minutes of The Avett Brothers. With just over two and a half hours worth of music, I’ll easily get through this bus ride.

Do you have any special playlists or artists that you listen to on particular occasions? Let me know! I’m always looking for new music.

Last night, my high school choir had a concert that included 5th-12th grade choir students. Each child had friends and family in the audience, resulting in hundreds of onlookers.

I sang two solos…and I have stage fright.

Singing in front of hundreds of people is one of the most terrifying things I have ever done, and I’ve climbed through the Red River Gorge and the Grand Canyon. I’ve also sat on the ledge of a mountain in the Rockies.

There’s just something about singing, putting yourself out there, in the faces of hundreds of strangers.

I’m not quite sure how my voice turned out, and I’m not completely confident that it sounded decent, but I’m incredibly proud of myself for singing without passing out.

Thousands of current performers have struggled with stage fright at some point in their lives. Vanessa Hudgens, famous from her role in High School Musical, used to sing for her local church and would get nervous before every single solo. Now, nearly every teenager across America, and many across the world, has heard her perform.

Who knows, maybe some day I’ll be in High School Musical: The Next Generation. (Not really…)

Have you ever had to perform something in front of a group of people and gotten stage fright?

This Sunday, February 9, 2014, is one of the biggest anniversaries in the music realm. Do you know what it is? Anyone, anyone?

Okay, I’ll tell.

The Beatles! This Sunday is the 50th anniversary of when The Beatles performed on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964. In order to honor such an occasion, I felt it would be appropriate to list my top fifteen favorite Beatles songs.

15. “Lady Madonna”

14. “Penny Lane”

13. “The Fool on the Hill”

12. “Dear Prudence”

11. “Revolution”

10. “Oh, Darlin'”

9. “Eleanor Rigby”

8. “Nowhere Man”

7. “Yesterday”

6. “Back in the U.S.S.R.”

5. “I Want You (She’s So Heavy)”
Now that we’re down to my top five, these songs really deserve an explanation. I’ve listened to The Beatles since I was very, very young. But this song in particular sticks out because of something a bit more recent. I remember when I was still pretty new to high school, just at the end of freshman year, and I was just becoming friends with Emma Welch (an unbelievably talented musician). Emma was my idol, and I remember hearing her sing this song in particular. Her voice fit the song perfectly. To this day, every time I hear this song, I think of Emma’s voice singing it.

4. “Blackbird”
This song is simply beautiful. I mean that in a literal sense. “Blackbird” is a simple song, with the same verse repeated several times, only with minor changes in meaning. But the song is still so deep. It speaks of healing and renewal, which everyone needs in their lives now and then.

3. “Hey, Jude”
Can we talk about meaning and depth for just a moment? This song has so much more depth than meets the ear. The ballad was written by Paul, and many people, including John, thought it was about his love with Yoko. It wasn’t. This song is about Julian, John’s son. John was never the best parent to Julian (this is just about the only time you’ll ever see me speak against John Lennon), but Paul often stepped in when John wasn’t there. Julian was having troubles (with girls) at school and Paul wrote this song to motivate Julian to stay positive, no matter what happens.

2. “Yellow Submarine”
If there’s any single piece of music that pulls me back into my childhood, it’s this one. As I’ve already said, The Beatles were always on when I was growing up. I think they’re the only band that my entire family could ever agree on listening to. I remember “Yellow Submarine” very fondly. My grandparents would play it at their house, and we would have little dances. I knew every word by the time I was about four years old.

1. “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”
Finally, my all time favorite Beatles song. I like this song because it, like “Hey, Jude,” is misconceived by many. The song is not about what the capitalized letters spell out. Instead, it’s a much more touching story. Before John lost time for young Julian, he and his son connected well (presumably). “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is about a painting that Julian brought home from school one day. He showed it to John and told him that the girl in the picture was his classmate, Lucy. John must have been proud of his son’s artwork; it inspired him to make an entire song based off of that one picture.

What are your favorite Beatles songs?

I’m talking about the music festivities, or festivals. Everyone has stories or has heard stories about all-day or multi-day music jams, otherwise know as music festivals. Music festivals typically compile several artists within the same genre, and if the festival lasts multiple days, each day typically has at least one really big artist to draw in a crowd. This year, there are a few music festivals around me that have a great line-up so far. I’ll definitely try to attend these ones.
1. Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati, Ohio
Bunbury is a newer music festival that kicked off in the summer of 2012. It’s a three day festival located at Sawyer Point in downtown Cincinnati. This year, three bands have been announced so far, while the rest of the line up will be announce in late February. The three bands announced are Fall Out Boy, Paramore, and New Politics. All three of these bands are to play Saturday, July 12, the second day of the festival. Bunbury encourages music fans to buy their tickets before the rest of the line up is announced because prices go up the minute everyone is announced. Currently, a single day pass is fifty five dollars, and a three day pass is one hundred thirty dollars.
2. Rock on the Range in Columbus, Ohio
Rock on the Range has been around for awhile, now. It’s also a three day festival, but located at the Columbus Crew stadium in Columbus. This year, the festival is in late May. The headlining bands include classic rock band Guns n’ Roses, which is the reason I want to go. Tickets for Rock on the Range are pretty affordable right now. They only come in three-day passes, but a field pass (closer to the bands) is around 160 dollars, while a stadium pass is only 99. It’s even cheaper if you go in a pack of four people, which is what my friends and I plan to do.

Right now, these are the only two festivals I really want to see (that I’ll be allowed to see). Of course, I’d love to experience something a little bit bigger like Bonaroo or Coachella, which are reminiscent of the ever-famous Woodstock, but those are currently out of the question. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for next summer, though!