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An Interview with Matt Charuka

When prompted to interview an artist, many different ideas came to mind, but I ultimately landed on an interview with my good friend Matt Charuka. It was Matt’s interest in music blogging that led to my entering the Blog-o-sphere™, and Matt is one of the most artistic people I can think of. Matt is a clarinetist who entered Mason Gross School of the Arts in the same year I did: 2019. He’s doing some really incredible things, and I wanted to shine a spotlight on his endeavors and pick his brain about some aspects of what he does as a musician.

You’ve clearly got a love for music. Where did this love start and where has it led you?

I would say my love for music started when I was a very young kid. I was in the car a lot with my mom from a very early age, and she always had some sort of CD she was listening to. She would listen to it for a couple of weeks, then move on to the next one, and during those listening periods, I was analyzing music before I even knew it. If there was a track I liked, I would ask my mom to play it over and over again, until she was incredibly sick of both the song and the CD itself. I was listening to every little detail, and when I got bored of that track, I would hyperfixate on another one. Perhaps I was the reason for my mom cycling through CDs so much! This eventually led to me singing a lot as a kid while trying to learn guitar by ear. Eventually I picked up a Clarinet and now I’m striving to be a professional performing artist and songwriter/composer/arranger!

What music/musicians would you say have influenced you the most as a performer, music maker, and music consumer?

These past couple of years, I have been largely influenced by rock and electronic music. I constantly find myself listening to all sorts of rock bands and electronic artists, which has had a huge impact on my identity as a Clarinetist and Bass Clarinetist. I know these two concepts don’t seem to blend at all, but I have found a way to combine them, and I will talk more about that later. In terms of musicians, you will remember as much as I do that we took a trip to see STARSET together, Jason! We got to meet them and pick all of their brains about the music industry and even what makes each of them tick haha. Their insight and motivation got me through some dark times to follow, and thus began a year and a half of exploring every unorthodox and strange thing I could do with the Clarinet to put out music that I feel represents myself the most. These musicians are Dustin Bates, Ron DeChant, Brock Richards, Adam Gilbert, Zuzana Engererova, and Siobhán Richards. If any of them see this, I hope to one day see you all again and thank you for your kind words and help! Maybe when I’m a fully established musician in the professional world, we could collaborate at some point! 

What drew you to playing clarinet in particular?

This is without a doubt going to be the least in-depth answer of this whole interview! This answer is very simple, have you ever heard of SpongeBob? Yes I know, I can hear the laughter and groans coming from the readers as I type this on my iPad, but Squidward is basically why. I was largely interested in music as a kid, and once I was in fourth grade, we got to choose if we wanted to play an instrument and what instrument that would be. The only wind instrument I was familiar with at the time was Clarinet thanks to the show, so as a happy-go-lucky kid, I chose the instrument! Definitely an odd circumstance, but I can confidently say that it was the best possible choice for me.

When I first met you, you were on track to becoming a music teacher. Your path has taken quite a few turns since then, which of those would you say were most significant for you?

I’ve had a lot of significant turns that were unique in their own ways, but I would say the largest turn happened sophomore year when I decided to drop music education from my bachelor’s track. I came to Mason Gross as a double major in both music education and Clarinet performance. I’ve talked to many people during that time and got the perspectives of those who were farther along into entering the field or who were already there, and as I continued to grow as a musician and a person, I realized I could not teach in a public school setting. My teaching style would be a private Clarinet studio either tied to a music school of just a studio of my own. I am someone who loves to create music and experiment with contemporary techniques and styles, so while music educators are some of the most important people when it comes to inspiration and sharing the gift of music, it’s not my place. My passion and dreams lie elsewhere.

What do you hope to get out of your time at Mason Gross and do you have plans to pursue any further musical education?

For the rest of my time here, I am going as big as I can in terms of performance and risks. Next semester I will be playing in two recitals, one of which is my own and another one that I will be co-hosting with my fellow quartet members. I am also slated to perform a solo Clarinet work with one of the great ensembles here at MGSA, it’s going to be a semester to remember! Down the line, I do plan to pursue another degree in music. My dream as of now is to pursue a contemporary performance track at Manhattan School of Music, in which I will be able to experiment with fusing Clarinet with electronics all while staying in the city, close to the great friends and colleagues I have already made. In the meantime, I have backup plans prepared, one possible path being to perform on cruise ships for a couple of years!

In your best estimate: what is the next step for you? Where do you expect to end up next?

To go a little deeper in what I said before, my ideal step would be to either pursue a contemporary performance track for a masters or to get some performance experience before entering the masters. Either way, my next large step I have planned is to go for my masters, I am just not sure of when that is going to happen. I have a new music group/project that I am currently working on getting off the ground, and if all goes well they will also climb in priority, hopefully to the point where we can perform and tour together. They are my closest friends and I’d love to tour with them! I have also discovered a means of installing a pickup into my Clarinet and Bass Clarinet, which allows me to feed my instruments’ sound through a signal chain of EFX pedals and out through an amp. This is going to be a HUGE part of my performing career, and I plan to write music for this as well!

What people would you say have been most helpful on your journey?

There are so many people in my life who have both helped and encouraged me on this path, all of which I have been very fortunate to have met. If I were to choose the most helpful people, they would be my immediate family. They have supported me through all of my highs and lows, and I have put those people through absolute hell before, but they never left my side. They never stopped encouraging me and they were always there when I needed them most. I’ve come very close to giving up on my dreams before, and if my family wasn’t around to support me, I probably would have foolishly given up by now. They are my foundation, and I wouldn’t even be close to where I am today without their love and support.

In what ways have your perfect pitch and synesthesia affected your musical path? 

I’ve answered this question plenty of times before, and each time involves a new set of experiences under my belt, and so I feel my answer always changes. Overall, it has its pros and cons. Being able to know exactly what pitch is sounding has made both writing and transcribing music very efficient, and synesthesia has given me the means to have extremely vivid visions while both listening to and performing music. They benefit my musicianship greatly, but I have encountered people in my life who have been jealous of these attributes I possess. It can make social situations a little weird sometimes, especially when someone points it out. Just the other day, I was in a performance seminar and the professor asked “If someone in here has synesthesia, I’d love to hear your perspective on this piece of music”. Due to not wanting to deal with glaring eyes, I didn’t even raise my hand. We just moved on, but all I felt was relief, like I dodged a bullet. It’s something I hope to get over as time goes on, but both of these things have put me in good and bad situations.

I know that you are a proponent of new music and that you have yourself dabbled in the creation of music. Do you see yourself diving deeper into the world of music creation in the future?

100% yes, I love writing music. At this point in time my computer is filled with incomplete creations of various forms. I have incomplete chamber music, solo music, electronic compositions, large ensemble compositions, singles, instruments with EFX pedal compositions, and more. Just recently I have finally finished a complete work of my own, dedicated to my mother. I won’t give details just yet, as I plan to refine the work and release it publicly, but I feel invigorated now that I have a fully finished piece. I have plans to write music for my new music group/project as well. It’s a very large part of my life and I only realized it very recently.

Any plugs or music recommendations for readers to get a taste of the Matt Charuka Musical Experience™?

Here are a couple of groups to listen to, as they have amazing music that I really enjoy. These groups are STARSET, Polyphia, and (though I listen to them pretty infrequently) The Lucky Chops. I mention these three groups because the music I plan to write for my own music group/project will combine the styles and techniques of these three. Plus, they’re all just great groups to listen to with unmatched talent. In terms of new music I am pursuing, I recommend looking up Chris Mothersole, a Clarinetist based in Georgia who does all sorts of music with electronics. This guy is fantastic, we’ve had some email exchanges and he gave me all sorts of advice in terms of equipment and music to pursue. Finally, if you’re a musician who wants to install a pickup into your own instrument(s), look up either Rumberger or Piezobarrel. These are both fantastic brands that will help you out!

[jcapehartjr]

Jamie Cullum, Jazz-Pop Fusion, and my thoughts on doing Cover Songs

Jamie Cullum, a name you may not have heard of, popular in a genre that itself is not so popular, jazz pop. Let’s start from the beginning, and see this incredible musician's contribution to a really interesting and unique genre of music.

Now despite having a very successful career as a musician, Cullum was never given formal school training in his field. Born in 1979, Cullum grew up attending a private school, and followed this with a degree in English Literature and Film Studies. His family was not particularly musical, with his mother being a secretary and his father working in finance. The closest relative he had was his grandmother, who sang in nightclubs. Now despite not having the most musical influences in his life, he still followed it independently, and studied composition by himself, as well as started a few bands. It was his independent drive and focus that led him to become the musician that he is today. Jamie is known for not only singing on his songs, but also for being a multi-instrumentalist. He plays piano, percussion, and even dabbles into the world of guitars as well. Now since he could play a lot of instruments, and didn’t have any formal training, he had a huge opportunity for him as a musician. Many music students are the product of their environment, and usually end up studying what their parents do, or end up working hard to sound like their teacher. Jamie didn’t have a musical family, or a teacher, so his influences are his own, and he really cut out his own style for himself. Jamie’s first two musical embraces were related but still distant, jazz and rock. A student studying formally might be told to focus on just one or the other, but Jamie didn’t have anyone to tell him no, so he did everything he wanted to, which gets us close to the unique genre many people know and love him for. 

Looking at his music, we can hear strong influences from jazz and even a few from rock, especially in his most recent album ‘The Pianoman at Christmas'. He really does not let one album stay in one genre, and really lets his voice and inspiration flow freely. Looking at his 2003 album ‘Twentysomething’, we can see a few covers, and songs that fall into jazz, ballads, and even soft rock. Some tracks involve rhythm sections, synthesizers, and even live horn sections. Hidden amongst these albums (some not even released) are some of the tracks he is most well known for, his jazz pop.

Now what is jazz pop? Looking at the genre name of itself, we see two genres that we all know, jazz and pop. The basis of jazz being a short melody, in which the performers can then solo or improvise over, which is the main focus of jazz. The basis for pop is longer and more memorable melodies, ones that could be easily sung or whistled, making them popular! Now combining the two, we get an interesting fusion genre that has changed over time, but still sits strong at its core. For this, we have to go back to the beginning of this style and culture of music in the early 1900’s. As jazz was on the rise with famous artists such as Louis Armstrong, we started to see the divide between the traditional jazz and what was then at the time known as ‘sweet jazz’. The more traditional stuff laid a lot into the groove and had a focus on long technical solos, whereas sweet jazz had a focus on tune and melody, which eventually gave way to artists like Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennet, where the music focused on the melody, which helped it skyrocket to popularity. Overtime, more influences from other genres got scooped into jazz pop, a big one being R & B, which really shows the reflective nature of the genre. Flash forward to today. Now although not as common, jazz pop still holds a place in society, and Jamie Cullum is a part of that wave. 

To me personally, some of his best work is in the jazz pop genre, especially when he covers other songs. He’ll take songs that have almost no connection to jazz, and transform them into something that is reminiscent of the original song, but with massive influences from jazz. He really takes the song and makes it his own. A great example of this is his cover of Rihanna’s ‘Don’t Stop the Music’. The song transforms from a club dance hall anthem, to a longing cry for help. It’s transformed into something so much more intimate than the original. It’s all live instruments, there is a thoughtful and tasteful piano solo, the tempo is pulled way back from the loud fast paced pumping of Rihanna's. 

Now I’m going to go on a touchy subject, my opinion on covers. I absolutely hate when bands do covers of songs and don’t change anything from the original. It’s different if it is a cover band, or maybe some wedding musicians playing a gig. I am talking about well known and respected artists taking an already known song, releasing it as a ‘cover’ and not changing a single thing about their ‘new’ version. A big offender of this is Panic! At the Disco’s ‘cover’ of Bohemian Rhapsody. Did it sound good? Yes! Did it sound different? Not really, it sounded like PATD singing Bohemian Rhapsody. We already have an incredible version of the song by Queen, so what is the point of doing a lesser recreation of something that is already a spectacular version. Now if Panic! took Bohemian Rhapsody and turned into their own by making into some kind of more punk rock thing, that would have been great. A cover should bring something new to the table, which is exactly what Jamie Cullum is doing. In every cover that this man does, he brings the world of jazz pop to new genres. He does a lot of these covers at his live concerts, so there are not many high quality recordings, but from what we can see, he completely changes how the songs feel and groove. Looking at this clip from 2007, we can see Jamie performing the spunky rock song Seven Nation Army, but now it's a soulful, jazzy, funky cover. Overall, Cullum's work shows his development not only to the style of jazz pop, but to the greater genre-spanning culture of cover songs.

[jcapehartjr]

Mr. Brightside May Never Die 

Mr. Brightside by The Killers is such an iconic song, for many reasons. To start out, the song is one that is widely seen in pop culture now, though it was not as much at the time of its release. The first release was in 2003 and was re-released in 2004, eventually hitting the billboard charts at Number 40 in 2005 and being the 6th most downloaded song in that year as well. By 2016, the song had already reached 3.5 million dollars in sales on itunes, which seems like a lot to me. 

The song is about getting cheated on, not anything that would make you think that this song will last forever. So what makes this song considered timeless? There are probably a lot of answers to this question but for me, I would say it is the ability the song has to pull people together. I was reading multiple articles where the theme was saying that people love this song at sporting events like football games. Interestly too, Britain is also really familiar with the song too, which is pretty cool. 

With personal experience, I can say the atmosphere when in sports games goes insane with Mr. Brightside. I’m sure it is an everywhere thing, but being at a Michigan Wolverine football game and hearing Mr. Brightside is something that just fuels your body with a sense and feeling of fitting in, being at home. The Big House, their stadium in Ann Arbor, holds up to 110,000 people and is incredibly loud when we play well (yes I’m a wolverine, go blue). Obviously, there are games that have more rivalries than others and the Michigan vs Ohio State game is one of them. 

The first time it was played was in 2016 against Wisconsin in the third quarter. The song was used to not necessarily hype the students and the crowd but to form unity within them… needless to say Michigan beat Wisconsin 14-7. From then on, the song has been played numerous times, especially during our big rivalry games like Michigan State and Ohio State. Because the fans get so into these games, Michigan releases hype videos for them. In the background you can hear Mr. Brightside being played during the great plays made at the 2021 Thanksgiving game at the Big House. It was such a fun game to be at, especially to experience the fans crowding the field at the end while singing Mr. Brightside together. 

In the hype video, you can see the entire stadium singing after the win, it is such a pure moment. 

I think that it is crazy that it is not an isolated thing. For one, colleges around the US seem to have this song played at parties a lot and people, I assume, enjoy it. I think the main theme of this is that the song unifies people and unity is something society needs, whether it be like niche groups or music etc. The fact that this song goes hard in so many other countries is amazing as well.

Thus, that brings me to my next point; how music has the ability to unite people.

live aid

There have been many charities and fundraisers that have had musicians play to either raise awareness to a specific cause or raise money for their cause. You can see this in a lot of big concerts like Live Aid, Live Earth, The Concert for New York City and many more. All of these had many performers from all over the world who people usually would pay to see, thus raising money for said causes. If you’ve ever seen anything about Live Aid, you can see that it is a really crowded stadium with performances literally coming from all over the world-this sort of shows you how people will come together to show up for causes they believe in. That is what humanity is about and it is cool to see music can do that. 

In respect to The Killers, they played in a benefit concert as well. They played in the 2017 Vegas Strong concert that was raising money for the victims of a mass shooting in Vegas at a music festival. The concert ended up making over $700,000, which is a lot of money that could be used for good. While it won’t bring back loved ones, it is nice to see a community coming together and showing love instead of hate. 

With all of the hatred going on in the world right now, I think it would be beneficial to raise awareness to some of it. With people going out more and concerts becoming more available and popular, it would be cool to see a cause the artist supports to hopefully be put somewhere and get news. I know that Harry Styles does this; before his shows the board says “End Gun Violence”. Obviously, it will not physically end gun violence but a star with millions of followers speaking out about an issue could really bring awareness to the issue at hand. It is a sad, but cool concept that I think should be incorporated into more artists' shows. Honestly, it does not even have to be limited by like musicians, it could be other major artists or celebrities as well. Awareness is key right? 

In conclusion, Mr. Brightside by The Killers is a truly iconic song. Not only does it resonate with people in the early 2000’s, it also resonates with people through 2022 and for sure will be carried on throughout the years. While looking at the song, it was cool to see how music can be used to bring communities together and create solidarity within them. It is a crazy thought that music can heal, but I think it is such an interesting way to think about how our communities now, with everything going on, could possibly use some music for themselves. Regardless, this song is timeless and will probably be heard in years to come.

[jcapehartjr]

Dancing On My Own: Where does musical meaning come from?

On October 3rd, 2022, the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their place in the Major League Baseball playoff bracket. They hadn’t done so in the past eleven seasons. This night was a big deal for the city of Philadelphia. After defeating the Astros in Houston, the Phillies players celebrated their victory with champagne and music. After playing two more games in Houston, the Phillies headed to St. Louis to take on the Cardinals in the “Wild Card” series—round one of baseball's playoffs. After defeating the Cardinals in two consecutive games, the champagne bottles would pop once again, and even this would not be their last celebration. Synonymous with these celebrations was one song in particular: “Dancing On My Own”.

The song was originally released in 2010 by Swedish pop musician Robyn. With sharp synth bass and a pounding kick drum in a “four-on-the-floor” house pattern, the song’s original version fits well into the early 2010s pop vernacular. In 2015, Calum Scott appeared on Britain’s Got Talent, singing a more soulful and heartbroken rendition of the song, which also feels quite apropos to the later 2010s pop ballad style. The next year, Scott’s rendition of “Dancing On My Own” was remixed by Dutch DJ Tiësto.

It is this version that the Phillies celebrated their victories to. According to an article from Philadelphia Baseball Review, the song was first brought into Major League Baseball by Boston Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki, who selected the song to be played each time he stepped up to hit during the 2020 season in which no spectators were allowed at stadiums. The Red Sox used “Dancing On My Own” to celebrate their playoff success in 2021. Even just within baseball, the song has developed its own meaning.

(The Philadelphia Orchestra performs a short arrangement to show their support for the Phillies during the 2022 playoffs.)

But outside of baseball, the song has meaning. When Robyn was writing the song, she had a particular intention. The song has lyrics which carry meaning within them.

Somebody said you got a new friend Does she love you better than I can? It's a big, black sky over my town I know where you at, I bet she's around

Yeah, I know it's stupid I just gotta see it for myself

I'm in the corner, watching you kiss her, oh I'm right over here, why can't you see me? Oh I'm giving it my all, but I'm not the girl you're taking home, ooh I keep dancing on my own (I keep dancing on my own)

These lyrics tell a story of desire without reciprocation, jealousy, and loneliness. The synthpop “club” vibes created by the instrumentation in Robyn’s version suggest that the “corner” being referred to is the corner of a dance club, hence why Robyn is “dancing on [her] own” while she watches the person she has feelings for take interest in someone else.

Calum Scott’s initial rendition on Britain’s Got Talent takes the emotional meaning of these lyrics to another level with its barebones orchestration: just Calum and a piano. The sense of loneliness is heightened by this musical choice, and the exposed nature of Calum’s vocals leave space for him to inject a sense of desperation into his performance.

Tiësto’s remix places Calum in a dance club similar to Robyn’s. Tiësto takes Calum’s lonely, desperate rendition of the song and places it in a lively dance club space, almost as if Calum’s rendition is isolated within his mind, and Tiësto’s version is viewing Calum from the outside. Each of these renditions carry subtly different meanings, while telling the same story.

2020 was a time of immense loneliness for many, perhaps even professional baseball players. The 2020 baseball season was cut short and, to many players, it felt completely different from other seasons. Without fans in the stadiums, the entire atmosphere was different. This may have caused Kevin Plawecki to choose Tiësto’s “Dancing On My Own” as his walkup music in 2020. Without the tens of thousands of fans that Fenway Park can hold, Red Sox baseball felt lonely.

In 2021, fans were back in stadiums, the season was of its usual length, and the Red Sox had quite a successful season. The loneliness was over and Boston fans had something to get excited about. But still, it was “Dancing On My Own” that played in the Sox clubhouse. Perhaps they played it as a testament to getting through the lonely times. Perhaps it was nothing more than a danceable four-on-the-floor beat that the team could hype themselves up with. Whatever meaning the song had for the players and the fans, it must have been derived from somewhere. Its meaning was unique for each listener, and it was likely based on a multitude of factors: the meaning put into the music by its creators, how the music reflects the experiences of a given listener, and the cultural significance that music has in its environment.

In 2022, the Phillies would sign a contract with a player who played a key role in the playoff success of the 2021 Red Sox: Kyle Schwarber. It was Schwarber who brought the song to the Phillies and it became an important part of Philadelphian culture in 2022 along with the Phillies’ playoff success. Phillies fans had been starved for playoff baseball for the last decade, and now they would finally get it, and “Dancing On My Own” was part of their celebration.

For the entire 2022 season, the Phillies were viewed as underdogs who had a lot to prove. After a season filled with ups and downs, the Phillies found their way into the playoffs where they would face off against some of the best teams baseball had to offer in 2022. This is all to say that the Phillies were not favored. The Phillies were left behind while someone else was chosen. The Phillies were left dancing on their own. In a sense, the song exemplified the Phillies’ position in the eyes of baseball fans. But the Phillies took that meaning of the song and gave it their own twist. They added a new clause to the sentence: “We’re dancing on our own, but we’ll show you why we’re the right choice.” Was this in the players’ minds on October 9th? Maybe. Is this what the song meant to Kyle Schwarber and Phillies superstar Bryce Harper that night? It’s entirely possible. From fan reactions, it was clear that this meaning held true with much of the fanbase. The song quickly became attached to the Phillies’ historic 2022 playoff run. The comments section of the official music video for the song on YouTube is sprinkled with Phillies fans showing their appreciation for the song and the team.

“Dancing On My Own” demonstrates music’s ability to not only hold different meaning for different listeners, but for that meaning to evolve over time and between contexts. Robyn’s original version presents an all-too-familiar story for some. Calum Scott’s soulful cover takes a more intimate approach and gives the listener a better sense of the desperation and despair that subjects in stories like Robyn’s can cause. Tiësto’s remix re-contextualizes Scott’s soulful performance and takes the listener outside the mind of Scott and out into the club where Scott stands and experiences his heartbreak. For Kevin Plawecki of the Boston Red Sox, this idea of dancing through the heartbreak may have gotten him through an unprecedented time. For Kyle Schwarber and the 2022 Phillies, this idea of desire for love and acknowledgement from a source that does not favor them seemed to drive them forward and motivate them to “prove the haters wrong”. Music is a powerful communicator, and to place limits on its capacity for meaning is to do it a great injustice. “Dancing On My Own” proves how meaningful music can be.

[jcapehartjr]

Joji: A Transitions From a YouTube Superstar to a Respected Musician.

George Kusunoki Miller or more commonly known as Joji has had a pretty unique rise to fame. If you know the lore behind George Miller you would know he has had a couple of different personas throughout his career. Each being pretty different from one another, but similar in a way. 

Filthy Frank was the first character he made up, which got really popular for his shock value and comedic insight. Filthy Frank constantly pushed the envelope on what was acceptable on YouTube and really was the first edgy youtuber. His content ranged from comedic insights on societal trends to mini skits that were sometimes hard to watch. In one of his more infamous videos he shaved one of his friends’ head and used the hair to make a cake. Then he proceeded to eat the cake with other YouTubers Maxmoefoe and iDubbbz which induced vomiting. Many of his videos were pretty extreme and had a lot of people mad that he was allowed on the platform. 

Pink Guy was the next character that he created, which was even more extreme than Filthy Frank. The character donned a pink jumpsuit and creepy facial expression. Pink Guy appeared in many of Filthy Franks videos, usually pranking people and just causing overall havoc. He also started a small trend back in 2013 called the Harlem Shake, which might be the most popular meme of all time. Like seriously the impact was massive, everybody from around the world was doing it from children to doctors to accountants. 

There is a common trend between all of these characters and that’s music. With every character that George creates, music has become increasingly more prominent in his content. It started with Filthy Frank where he occasionally made satirical songs about random things. One of my favorite songs was making fun of weeaboos, who are extremely cringy people who are obsessed with anime and Japanese culture. The character of Pink Guy marked a change in George’s focus from content creator to musician. He made an entire album around the character of Pink Guy called “Pink Season”, which was released back in 2017. The album was completely satirical and was designed to make people laugh. The album was actually well received and people enjoyed the idea behind it.

Shortly after the release of “Pink Season” George wanted to move in a different direction with his career. He no longer wanted to be a content creator on YouTube or do satirical music anymore. He wanted to pursue a serious career in music which would have no elements of comedy in it. This would be a tough task because his past persona’s were so extreme and socially unacceptable, it would be hard for people to see him any other way.  Also, his fanbase was very dedicated and wasn’t happy about him retiring the characters of Filthy Frank and Pink Guy. At this time YouTube was changing at a rapid pace, which meant controversial and edgy content was not being monetized as much. This wasn’t really a huge factor for George because he barely got monetized anyways. What was a huge contributing factor was the stress and loss of passion for making content. This stress exasperated a heart condition he had and made him step away for a while. 

Joji is George’s last persona and stage name, this persona is the most representative of George as a person. Most of his songs are about failed relationships, love and his struggles with himself. Google defines his genre of music as a mix of R&B, lo-fi and trip hop, which is a pretty good description. I would also add that he definitely embodies the sad bio trope and he does it pretty well. He released his first album “In Tongues” which was released back in 2017. People were pleasantly surprised by his vocals and the overall production of the album. Honestly, I could take it or leave it, the album was good, but not great. His next album “Ballards 1” was his first studio album, which was released back in 2018.  Personally, I think this might be his best album so far with songs such as “Test Drive”, “Attention”, “Yeah Right”, and “Slow Dancing in the Dark”. The album that rivals “Ballards 1’’ would be his next album “Nectar” which was released in 2020. When I first listened to the album, I was a little disappointed and thought it was a step down from “Ballards 1”. But after listening to the album again, it started to grow on me and I actually enjoyed it a lot. I would recommend songs such as “After Thought”, “Normal People”, and “Sanctuary” which is my favorite song on the album.  His most recent album “Smithereens” which was just released this year in November, isn’t that good. To be completely transparent I haven’t listened to all the songs yet, but my first impressions aren’t good. It’s possible that it could grow on me like “Nectar” did, but I don’t think it will. I feel like he’s doing the same thing he has done in his last albums, just not as good. 

Overall George Kusunoki Miller is an extremely complex person with many different persona’s. He did something that no YouTuber has ever done, which is successfully transitioning from a content creator to a musician. He also created the most popular internet trend ever the Harlem Shake and was a pioneer of controversial content on YouTube. I don’t think people realize the risk he took in his change of career. First of all, he didn’t know if he could break away from the Filthy Frank and Pink Guy persona’s, since it was so embedded in him. He also didn’t have millions of dollars to fall back on since his content was barely monetized and no brands would associate with him. He could have used his fame to help launch his career, but many of his fans didn’t support the switch and actually were pretty mad about it. On top of that, many people were questioning his decision to become a musician and called him delusional. The one thing I think you should take away from this is that people don’t define you, you do.

[jcapehartjr]

Bruno Mars: The Modern Man of Retro

In today's music industry, various artists have carved their own niche through creating pieces drawn from popular genres, ranging from rap, country music, and rock. One particular genre draws much of its popularity and identity from hip hop and R&B. At its forefront stands song artist and pop icon Bruno Mars. Peter Gene Hernandez, or Bruno Mars, almost single handedly revived the era of hip hop from the 1990s through his most popular songs. Today, Bruno Mars represents the 90s culture, and while he is not as popular as he was during the 2010s, his influence situates him as a well-known artist in the modern US.

Starting from his origins, Bruno Mars was (as expected) especially interested in pop music during his youth, drawing inspiration from big names like Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. Much of the music her produced is best described as "vintage", such as his early collaborative efforts in songs like "Nothin' on You" by B.o.B and "Billionaire" by Travis McCoy. Such works served to cement his image as a hip hop artist.

Following Bruno Mars' success in late 2000s projects, he began to pursue his own career in the form of his first official album Doo-Woops and Hooligan. The album had almost immediately become a countrywide success, pulling in hundreds of thousands of listens at an alarming pace.

Personally, during my first listen of the entire album, I could not connect the songs to his recent works. However, I eventually was able to discern the instrumentals that linked both of his works. His use of more excitable background music instills a unique depiction of music that is hip hop but is also undeniable a Bruno Mars song. I had actually felt nostalgic as I had heard these very songs in my youth. As a matter of fact, I had heard of these so much that I initially believed that Bruno Mars' songs were the musical products early 2000s era, when in actuality his songs were indicative of what the 2000s represented.

Following his album's success in 2010, Bruno Mars worked on various projects with other music artists until the release of his new album Unorthodox Jukebox. While it did not perform as successfully as his initial album, it still sold very well and reflected his personal style.

My first impression of the album was that it certainly was created by Bruno Mars. It remained upbeat and its lyrics matched the instrumentals. However, I felt that it was certainly not as iconic as his first album. The greatest departure from his style was the song "Gorilla", which reminded me more of rock music than hip hop.

Finally, the last song I want to cover for Bruno Mars is, in my opinion, Bruno Mars' most iconic song: Uptown Funk. With its 90s feel and the stylization of the music video, one can immediately conjure the time era that Bruno hoped to capture. The clothing style exemplifies the 90s: the tinted sunglasses, fedora, leather jackets, and jewelry! Furthermore, the use of the setting sells the theme with the use of vintage cars, brick building neighborhoods, and the overall quality of the recording. On the last point, the filming quality was excellent, but it still captures the sense of 90s television, likely due to the colors used. Furthermore, both the choreography and lyrics also give off a 90s-esque atmosphere. For instance, the lyrics

Take a sip, sign a check Julio, get the stretch Ride to Harlem, Hollywood, Jackson, Mississippi If we show up, we gon' show out Smoother than a fresh jar of Skippy

display a sense of old time metaphors and vernacular that is easily recognizable. In regards to thee dance, much can be attributed to the style, but the group choreography also matches up with 80s dance styles, many of which involve swaying back and forth.

To conclude, Bruno Mars is one of the greatest icons in the 21st century through his incorporation of 80-90s music style and his own unique twist that can be easily recognizable to those who hear his songs. While his name has not been as prominent in today's music scene, Bruno Mars will continue to remain as a mainstay in today's culture, especially in regards to the niche community of retro music.

[jcapehartjr]

Artist Profile: Sungazer

There are some pretty wild things you can find on the internet. It’s a place where you can accidentally find yourself learning when you didn’t even mean to. As a high school student, I found myself becoming deeply interested in the creation of music and “music theory” (I put this term in quotes for reasons I’ll mention later). I took these interests where any impressionable teenager in the 2010s did: YouTube. There, I was introduced a variety of personalities who offered insights into the creation of all sorts of music. One personality that repeatedly drew my interest was that of Adam Neely. Neely, a bassist, composer, educator, and deep thinker about music in general, has been uploading YouTube videos for the past sixteen years, but his current brand of video started about 8 years ago with Neely’s explanations of the songs he created with his bandmate Shawn Crowder. This duo comprises Sungazer. The songs that Neely teaches of are those from Sungazer’s first EP, Sungazer, Vol. 1. Since then, Sungazer released a second EP (Sungazer, Vol. 2) five years after the first, and their first full album Perihelion released at the end of 2021.

Neely and Crowder both studied jazz at Berklee College of Music, with Neely also having studied at Manhattan School of Music. These studies in jazz not only introduced Neely and Crowder, but influenced their style of music creation. On the homepage of their website, below their band name, in small text over a picture of the duo staring directly into your soul, it reads “electrojazz + EDM”. These two labels only scratch the surface of the music that Neely and Crowder make. The “Press Kit” page of their website goes into a bit more depth, but still fails to fully encompass their music: “…Sungazer has brought their unique blend of hard-hitting Jazz Fusion, 8-bit, Glitch and EDM to audiences across the globe…”.

In many ways, their music is quite… intellectually challenging—Crowder is a drummer known for his intensely complex rhythmic capabilities, and Neely frequently displays his technological prowess in production and his incredibly well-trained bass playing. To a typical jazz consumer, Sungazer’s music may feel quite strange. Little of Sungazer’s music sounds awfully similar to someone like Miles Davis or Duke Ellington, but in his educational videos, Neely often cites such jazz influences and teaches viewers about various elements of the jazz idiom.

On his personal website, Neely’s bio states that “[h]is educational content explores what music means, and what it means to be a musician.” This is an inherently complex concept to explore, but one that Neely never shies away from. Some of Neely’s most interesting videos include “What is the slowest music humanly possible?”, “Music Theory and White Supremacy” (this video explains why I put “music theory” in quotes earlier), “What is the most difficult piece of music?”, and “Anthem”. Throughout his video content, Neely demonstrates familiarity with a wide variety of musical styles and cultures, which allows him to engage a widely diverse audience. According to his bio on Sungazer’s website, “Shawn Crowder began his drumming career in New York, working as an in-demand player in the live electronic and underground jazz scenes.” More recently than Neely, Crowder too has been uploading educational videos to YouTube and relating many of the educational concepts to the music of Sungazer. Crowder’s videos are much more focused on concepts specific to drumming and rhythm, which I eat up as a drummer myself. Much of Crowder’s style of drumming involves complex rhythms, employing musical concepts such as “tuplets”, “microrhythm”, and “meter”. These complexities are essential to the sound of Sungazer. Songs like “Dream of Mahjong”, “Ether”, “Drunk”, and “Cytherean” employ odd rhythmic groupings that create a unique feel that simultaneously grooves and off-puts the listener.

Something that draws me to Sungazer as artists is that they actively want people to understand their music. They create music that challenges the listener, but does not talk down to them. Neely and Crowder are happy to explain their thought processes behind the music they make. Neely is never afraid to cite his influences. Crowder can eloquently break down exactly how he conceptualizes a complex rhythmic passage and demonstrate to less advanced drummers how they can not only experience Sungazer’s music, but work the same sorts of techniques and styles into their own playing. It is evident in their music that they enjoy the creative process and that they are quite proficient at it.

Sungazer have been touring since 2019, with their most recent tour taking them around Europe this year. Their following has grown immensely, in part due to Neely’s YouTube following increasing. An admirable aspect about the group’s success has been their openness to collaboration and taking friends along for the ride. Even in their first EP, Sungazer featured vocalist Justina Maria Soto. The band tours with Jared Yee (of Aberdeen), Christian Li, and Shubh Saran, and both Neely and Crowder have documented their many collaborations in their YouTube videos. Neely has produced covers of popular songs in his unique style with collaborators as well. His covers include Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Run Away With Me” (featuring vocalist Kate Steinberg), Adele’s “Hello” (featuring vocalist Jae Soto), Zedd’s “Clarity” (featuring vocalist Hannah Sumner), The Weeknd’s “The Hills” (also featuring Hannah Sumner). In some cases, these covers starkly contrast the originals, but Neely created videos in which he breaks down his thought processes which can aid in a listener’s understanding these unique takes on recent chart toppers.

Both of Sungazer’s members bring a breadth of knowledge and skill to the music that they make. Their unique style incorporates their jazz training, their affinity for electronic elements, and their curiosities about music and life in general. The combination of these aspects creates a musical experience like no other, and their dedication to education invites listeners to join the experience and make their own assessments about it, and even invites them to learn along the way. Their music certainly isn’t for everyone, but a lot of it is for me.

[jcapehartjr]

A look at John Williams

John Williams. This name for many people paints a picture of soaring string melodies, brilliant brass fanfares, and vivid imagery coming alive through his music. For those of you who don't know who I am speaking of, John Williams is known for iconic soundtracks to many movies, including Star Wars, Jaws, Schindler's List, and many more classics. Now one may think that a musician of this classical caliber may have a certain type of upbringing or influences, but it may not be what you expect. 

Williams grew up right across the river in Floral Park, New York, to a family filled with musical talent. Growing up in New York alone allows one to have access to some of the most incredible music scenes on the planet, but pair that with an already musical family, and you get one of the greatest film scorers and composers of the past 100 years. New York is home to some of the biggest orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, and also home to famous jazz clubs such as Bigs and the Blue Note. Although he is currently known for his soundtracks and classical works, his familial talent lies in other fields. His father was a well known jazz percussionist, as well as some of his uncles. Growing up Williams learned trombone, trumpet, and piano. Coming from such a jazz oriented family, he studied a lot of jazz piano, and made a small ensemble of his own. When entering college, he decided to change his career choice towards becoming a classical pianist as well as a composer. This is where we start to see the John Williams we know. He’s changing from the jazz oriented musician, and shifting gears to a more classical focus. Like many music students, he suffered a bit from the sounds of a practice room. Imagine being in a building that has dozens of rooms, filled with the future Mozarts, Yo-Yo Ma’s and Kenny DeCarlo’s of the world. Hearing all these crazy future stars, he decided to really hone in on his composition and accompaniment piano skills. While in college at Julliard, he was drafted into the Air Force and given the responsibility of creating music for the military bands. Upon returning to the states he finished college and moved onto the next part of his life, where we get even closer to the Williams that we love and know today.

John Williams became what is called a studio musician. These individuals are highly talented musicians that perform for soundtracks and professional recordings of media. He played on films such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Peter Gunn. These opportunities presented him with the idea of composing music for films, which is where we have the Williams that we love and know today. His fame in the movie industry is almost unparalleled, but there is another side to him that not a lot of people know about. John Williams acknowledges that he is older, and unfortunately does not have a lot of time left with us, and decided to mostly retire as a film composer. In an interview with the New York Times,  he states that “Six months of life at my age is a long time”, which is an unfortunate truth. But do not fret, the mastermind is still creating more music, but has shifted to a more classical scene with orchestral and solo works. 

Personally, I am a huge fan of Williams' new works, but many people in the classical world are on the fence. This is where I am going to let out a little bit of my frustrations with the institution that is the classical music world. So many people and orchestras are stuck in the past and will not play new works. Many composers such as myself fight for very few chances to have your orchestral piece played once and then have it be lost to time. The ensembles would rather play old standards than try something new, in most cases. (Rutgers is pushing to have at least one newer orchestral piece per concert!). John Williams is writing incredible new works, such as his 2021 piece, Overture to the Oscars, a piece reminiscent of Gustav Holsts, Jupiter. But, this piece might only get played once, because of the culture in the orchestral world.

Another aspect working against him is that of the classical world having a lack of respect for the film world. I feel like a lot of composers want to push the boundaries of music and lack tonal centers, which quite frankly makes the music less friendly to the ear. There is a reason why classical music progressively faded out of popularity, and it is because it stopped lacking a singable theme. The songs that stay popular and at the forefront of society are ones that people can sing. Find a random person on the street and ask them to sing Jaws, or Star Wars, or Hooked on a Feeling. They can do it because it has a discernable and memorable melody. John Williams does this so much. He represents characters and places with themes, so when that music comes on, the viewer subconsciously knows what is going to happen. For whatever reason, this is looked down upon in the classical world, including some of our very own professors at Rutgers. They would argue that their music has themes and patterns, and which yes it does. But the music and patterns they follow are not particularly memorable, or singable, which is the key difference here. Now I would like to expand upon that this is mostly happening in the orchestral world. In band music, new works are encouraged and are preferred. We have the standards that are played, but many new pieces are also played. There is a reason why I am having 5 different band pieces premieres this semester, and literally no new orchestral pieces being played. I would really like to see Williams venture into the band world, because I think that bands would eat it up and love it. 

Overall, I think that John Williams is making a good move by just writing music to write music and not worrying about deadlines. It allows his true voice to show, and we can see how he developed from where he once was as a jazz pianist to the composer he is now. I think that the culture of the orchestral music world will have to change for Williams concert music to thrive. 

[jcapehartjr]

Another British music invasion

British brass band, or more commonly just called brass band, is a traditional english ensemble seen frequently throughout England and the rest of western Europe, but has not done much traveling outside of that country. While many music students in the states will go to school to become band teachers and teach concert bands filled with all types of instruments, people across the pond can go to school but end up teaching brass bands instead! Let’s talk a little bit of the history of this group before we talk about its progress in America.

Looking back a few hundred years, these groups were made by workers during the European industrial revolution, to give them a sense of the past and simpler times, when people would come together and play for fun and enjoyment. As the revolution went on, many companies raced to create the gold standard of instruments that could be used by this band, propelling it to the highly competitive state that it is at today. So many groups were created that there were estimated to be around 10-40,000 bands in the UK. Over time this of course went down, resulting in community bands as well as professional bands. Now at some point, a few of these band members made their way over to the states, which is where our journey begins. Now this type of ensemble was not as common in the US, mainly for the use of instruments that were and are still just not as common to find here. We use tubas, trombones, and euphoniums just like the Brits do, but we start to see other instruments the higher up in range we go. We then see cornets instead of trumpets, which are still common. The spot we really see the difference is in the midrange. We see proper small bore baritones, which are not even made in the US, and then tenor horns, another instrument that is not used, taught, or produced in the US! Now despite these instruments not being common in the states, many of the horns have made their way over. 

Looking at the local scene of these ensembles in the tristate area, it seems that there are mostly community ensembles and college ensembles. Our very own Rutgers University has a recently started band, as well as Rowan down in South Jersey. There are many local community groups such as the Atlantic Brass Band, Imperial Brass Band, and also Princeton Brass Band. Now just because these are community ensembles, do not mistake them for some hobbyists or amateurs. All of these ensembles are filled with extremely talented and capable musicians, and several of these travel around the country to compete and place in brass band competitions. These groups compete in competitions such as the North Atlantic Brass Band Association and the Mid-Atlantic Brass Band Festival. These competitions bring in people from mostly the U.S. and Canada, but also draws an international audience as well. 

Now you may be wondering what these groups sound like, and I’m going to link a few songs here that really capture the essence of brass band. This first piece is called Fire in the Blood, and really showcases the traditional sound of the band, and demonstrates the skill and competitive nature of the ensemble. I have had experience playing this piece with the Rutgers University Brass Band, and it is quite the challenge, but extremely rewarding once you can perform. This other piece shows another side of the band playing some pop music that was used in a famous James Bond. This piece is Live and Let Die, performed by one of the world's most renowned brass bands, the Cory Band. I feel like these two pieces really showcase the diversity in rep that the ensemble can play.

[jcapehartjr]

The American Wind Band Music Scene

As a composer and percussionist in the United States, I have spent much of my musical life performing in bands—not rock bands like Led Zeppelin or AC/DC, though that sounds fun to the drummer side of me. The bands that I have performed in are called “wind bands” or “wind ensembles” (though there are some technical semantic differences between “symphonic band” and “wind ensemble” depending on who you ask). For the sake of simplicity, I’ll lump them all into the general category of “band music”.

These bands are comprised of wind instruments (woodwinds and brass, instruments played by blowing air through them) and percussion instruments. This idea of “wind band” has quite a complex and storied history. Early wind bands were tied to military activities. One often thinks of the drums and fifes that led soldiers to battle during the Revolutionary War, etc. This association was so strong, even, that some composers wrote specifically for “military band”

The modern marching band also has strong military ties. Since then, the wind band has become incredibly common, especially in American educational institutions. Some composers who write for wind band in 21st century America have achieved a comparable level of success to composers of orchestral music throughout Europe in the 17th through the 20th centuries.

While the world of “classical concert music” has been long dominated by the same kinds of white male faces for decades if not centuries, the band scene has leapt far ahead of many other categories of concert music in terms of diversity and inclusivity. 21st century orchestras play music written centuries ago much more frequently than they’ll play music by a… *gasp* living composer. However, contemporary orchestral music is growing in prominence, and the umbrella is gradually being widened to include a more diverse set of composers and backgrounds (women, LGBTQ+ composers, composers of color, etc.) Band music is leading the charge in the inclusion of composers of such backgrounds. I’ve included at the end of this post a list (and a playlist) of some of the diverse composers whose music I’ve had the pleasure of performing.

Even in terms of included instruments, the band world is more expansive and inclusive. The typical orchestra is made up of large sections of stringed instruments (violins, violas, cellos, basses), much smaller sections of wind instruments (typically flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, trumpets, maybe trombones, and a tuba or two), and a few percussionists. The typical 21st century wind band is made up of large sections of woodwinds, large brass sections, and more complex and interesting percussion sections. Where orchestras may have three clarinetists, wind bands usually have six. Saxophones are rare in typical orchestral music, but they are essential to the sound of the modern wind band. The same can be said for the euphonium, a brass instrument that many are unaware of the existence of.

Where orchestras typically have 1-3 percussionists (one of whom will exclusively play timpani and get paid more than most members of professional orchestras), wind band percussion sections double or even triple that number. While there are notable cases of large percussion sections in orchestra music, that is more of an exception than a standard, whereas in band music, the opposite is often true. Not only are the forces greater, wind band percussion sections are much more open to varied percussion instrument choices. Everything from Balinese gamelan and clay pots to crystal glasses and flexatones are fair game in wind band music. Instruments like these appear in orchestral music as well, but not with the same frequency.

As a composer, I hope to contribute to the modern American band music scene myself. In my studies at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, I’ve composed multiple works for band that highlight some of its strengths and versatilities, and it is a scene full of incredible artistic voices, powerful messages, and genuinely great music. With each composer taking influences from their varied backgrounds and bringing elements of other cultures and musical styles into the world of band, the vocabulary of the “band music scene” is being expanded with each new piece of music introduced to it.

Some of the incredible band composers whose music I’ve performed:

Jodie Blackshaw *

Valerie Coleman *§

Katahj Copley §

Viet Cuong §

Kevin Day §†

Julie Giroux *†

Jennifer Higdon *†

Tania Leon *§

Steven Reineke †

Alex Shapiro *

Randall Standridge †

William Grant Still §

Omar Thomas §†

I’ve based these attributions on the listings from the Wind Repertory Project.

* - female composer

† - LGBTQ+ composer

§ - BIPOC/non-white composer

[jcapehartjr]

Rosalía explores modernized bachata and electropop fusion with "La Fama"

You may have heard of the artist name Rosalía a lot recently, as this certain artist rose to fame with hit songs, "Malamente", "Pienso en tu Mira", and "Con Altura" over the years. She is a Spanish-speaking artist that has been known for incorporating flamenco, a traditional Spanish art style based in folk music, with hip-hop influences. In March of 2022, she released her album “Motomami” (roughly meaning “biker chick” in English) which she described as a more personal album because it relates more to her personal life experiences. One of the tracks of this album relates to her experiences dealing with fame once she started becoming globally famous. This track is the one I will specifically be analyzing called “La Fama”, which translates to “The Fame”, also featuring Canadian pop singer The Weeknd singing fully in Spanish. 

“La Fama” is not the first collaboration between Rosalia and the Weeknd, as they have recorded the track “Blinding Lights” together before. However while “Blinding Lights” was an 80s-inspired electro-pop song, “La Fama” is a sultry unique fusion of bachata, electropop, and experimental elements. It was Rosalia’s very first attempt at using bachata in her music. She stated for Rolling Stones, “I wanted to write, in my own way, a bachata with a little story around ambition.”

Before I go on, I will first quickly explain that in bachata, it almost always has a sensual and rhythmic vibe to the track, and it creates sensual love songs with percussion and guitar instruments. I will be mentioning three main instruments in this track throughout my analysis. The first one is the bongó drums which maintain the tempo. The second is the güira, which is a Dominican percussion instrument consisting of a stiff brush brushing over a metal sheet that makes a rattling noise (kind of sounds like maracas to me). The third is a requinto, which is the lead guitar, a smaller version of a classical guitar. These instruments combined maintained the true essence of what makes bachata bachata and it was a wise decision for Rosalia to not mess around with that too much in my opinion. 

In the track, it immediately starts with some sort of electric guitar sounding instrument (but I'm not totally sure) repeating the same snippet for the rest of the entirety of the song at the same pace, following the most recognizable bachata introduction of percussion instrument güira rattling playing for only about 2 seconds to introduce the first verse. 

Next we hear Rosalia’s amazingly smooth vocals singing “Lo que paso” (What happened) in a very seductive way and the beat is dropped right after that part with bongo drums and a requinto playing very low notes as the bass. Then there is a slight pause and then the güira is rattled and that same electric guitar snippet could be heard and then The Weeknd comes in strong with the chorus and fluent Spanish vocals. Again, the electric guitar snippet is still being repeated but at the end of each of his verses of the chorus there is a small almost “woo-hoo” sound from an electric guitar(?) afterward. 

The pattern repeats for the whole chorus and when it ends, the güira is heard rattling again and there is a slightly longer pause with no music at all. Then The Weeknd sings the bridge part with “Lo que paso” (What happened) just like how Rosalia did in the intro and the same electric guitar snippet repeated but toward the end of the stanza right as he says “Puñala'itas da su ambición” (It stabs at your ambitions), the electric guitar pattern stops and replaced with the güira rattling. When he finishes singing, there is a slight pause of no music and then Rosalia comes in to sing the chorus this time with the electric guitar snippet accompanying her and the “woo hoo” electric guitar sound played after each verse again. This time, right after she sings “yo nunca le confiaré” (I will never trust her), the güira is played.

And right after she finishes the chorus, the whole song seems to slow down with the electric guitar snippet gone and slow long keyboard(?) notes are played in the background instead. Some faint background singers join in, kind of reminding me of a slow harmonious church choir, and then the pace picks up with the electric guitar snippet playing on repeat again and the background choir singing a little louder. The Weeknd joins in singing a bit but then the background choir sings a few more high pitch notes, fading into the background. This gives way for the electric guitar to gradually get louder again and The Weeknd sings the first half of the chorus and then Rosalia the last half, with the güira and the electric guitar “woo hoo” snippets accompanying them in the same previous fashion. The song ends right when Rosalia finishes singing, with no lingering music at all - simply an abrupt stop.

From listening to this track, I liked that the pauses weren't too long so I wasn't left in suspense for too long waiting for the beat to drop. I also think that the electric guitar really mixed well with the traditional bachata instruments like the güira and the bongos. I think there was a really natural flow to everything and I was able to listen to the lyrics clearly without being distracted. Also I think that Rosalia’s entire choice of featuring the Weeknd (whose first language is not Spanish) was great because honestly had I not known this fact about him, I doubt I would have been able to guess because of the fluency in his words. It doesn’t sound forced, and his voice really suits bachata, and kind of reminds me of Prince Royce's smooth voice, a well-known bachata artist, so I think this was a pleasant change from his usual pop and R&B style.

Now looking into the lyrics of “La Fama”, the track tells the tragic story of two lovers who choose fame over true love between them. However, on a deeper level, the lyrics can also be interpreted as fame being personified as one of the “lovers”. This can be seen in the chorus (translated in English):

“Fame is a bad lover and she’s not going to love you for real

She is too treacherous, and just as she comes, she leaves

She knows that she will be jealous, I will never trust her

If you want, sleep with her, but never marry her”

So Rosalia's track is referring to fame being a two-faced traitor. To your face, fame will shower you with love but it has an ugly side to it where it can’t truly be trusted and will ultimately betray you. Again, since this is a tragic love song, bachata was just the perfect choice with the güira to emphasize the certain heartbreaking verses and the classic bongos and requinto to add the sensual touch.

However, one critique I have heard about Rosalia regarding this track is that Rosalia is “trying” to be Latina by using bachata music, since bachata is Dominican (so Latin) and she has also previously worked with other Latin artists, such as J Balvin and Ozuna. Rosalia is of Spanish nationality, so she is European, not Latina. It may be confusing since both people of Spain and Latin America speak Spanish, and Rosalia speaks Spanish, but this is purely due to the fact that Spain colonized Latin America so the subject is definitely sensitive to many people and many would be offended by a Spaniard trying to appropriate themself to be Latino/a.

Also, when Rosalia dropped a sneak peek of the track along with her own small bachata dance on Tiktok, it unfortunately happened to be on October 12, the National Day of Spain.  

@rosalia♬ sonido original - La Rosalia

This is the tiktok video of Rosalia's sneak peek of "La Fama" featuring her dancing bachata and lip-syncing to the track, posted on October 12, which rubbed people the wrong way, including strong Rosalia fans.

This is the tiktok video of Rosalia's sneak peek of "La Fama" featuring her dancing bachata and lip-syncing to the track, posted on October 12.

This is a tweet referring to Rosalia's sneak peek of La Fama on Tiktok and basically saying that all the Latinos will be fighting her if she mainly focuses her "Motomami" album on bachata music.

Personally, although I am not Latina myself, I wouldn't consider what Rosalia did to be “cultural appropriation” because she seems to be well educated on the origins of bachata and respectful of it. She had said herself that she was inspired by one of the first founders of bachata, Romeo Santos, and he had even reached out to her while she started working on this track and helped her out by sending her an extensive playlist. Rosalia also commented, “Taking as a reference the lyrics of Ruben Blades or Patti Smith and the songs of Aventura, I ended up writing a story of romance with fame.” Aventura is a very famous bachata group and Ruben Blades is a famous Latino artist as well. 

Overall, I think that Rosalia did a great job in creating a bachata track with such unique aspects like featuring a non-Latino artist, (which is not typically done at all) and incorporating modern electropop, yet still maintaining the bachata “trademark” with the instrumental rhythms and sensual flow. It truly shows her versatility in going out of her comfort zone from her previous flamenco music and trying non-conventional music methods. Rather than just doing a bachata song, or just an electropop song, she combined the two into one track and kept it classic yet innovative.

[jcapehartjr]

How "Something Wicked" Brilliantly Breaks STARSET's Formula

Ohio-based hard rock band STARSET released their fourth album, Horizons, in October 2021. The album featured some of their finest songs to date, most of which followed a formula that the group has followed since their first album in 2015. However, the final track of the album does away with the typical STARSET formula in striking ways. I’d like to dissect just what makes “Something Wicked” so intriguing, especially compared to the rest of STARSET’s discography.

            STARSET’s formula follows a very common song structure: alternating three verses and three choruses, with a bridge almost always coming after the second chorus. Many STARSET songs open with a build into the first verse (“Carnivore”, “Monster”, “Manifest”, “Earthrise”). Other STARSET songs jump directly into the first verse’s lyrics (“Halo”, “Satellite”, “Tunnelvision”)

“Something Wicked” does neither of these. It instead begins with a piano playing one note over and over again, with a faint “ticking” sound accompanying the piano notes. After just three notes, lead singer Dustin Bates begins singing. No build-up, but it doesn’t jump straight in either. The clock ticks and piano continue as Bates sings in a breathy, exasperated voice. This bare-bones orchestration is somewhat atypical of STARSET’s music already. For listeners who know STARSET, this change of pace is unsettling. Even in just the first four words of the song (“Loving, hating, hoping, taking”), there is brilliant songwriting. For “Loving” and “hoping”, only Bates’s natural voice is heard. On “hating” and “taking”, words with a more negative connotation, the notes are harmonized a few octaves lower. This effect gives these negative words a particularly ominous feeling to them.

After the first four words, the lyrics and the melody start to unfold, stretching into full phrases and sentences. After a few phrases, string instruments are added to the texture. Over the first 1:30 of the song, there is this sense of gradual growth. STARSET’s music is not typically gradual in nature.

At about 1:33, the strings exit and Bates begins singing again. This time, he sings a different melody. It’s obvious that this is a new section, but it doesn’t quite feel like a chorus. Interestingly, the melody that Bates sings here sounds new to the listener, but was actually foreshadowed by the strings just a few seconds prior. The orchestration is stripped back down to singer, piano, and some ambient synths. After a few phrases, a cello comes in playing a gorgeously tragic counter line to Bates’s melody. Again, this section feels like it’s growing gradually, growing toward something. At 2:04, there is a moment of pause, and then the same melody heard previously starts to repeat, but now we hear drums and guitars added, as well as Bates’s vocals being doubled in octaves to sound thicker and more present in the mix. It isn’t until about 2:20 that STARSET achieves their typical “metal” sound. It feels like all that growing has paid off here. It feels like the pot has started boiling over.

Then it gets bigger.

Drummer Adam Gilbert starts hammering away at cymbals, a track of Bates screaming can be heard behind more new melodic material. Bates is reaching higher and higher notes and even screaming parts of the main melodic line. There are more complex synth lines, heavy guitars, the strings return and the whole texture gives Bates a thick wall of sound to back him up.

As Bates screams out “I have come alive”, the song transitions to yet more new melodic material in what feels like another new section. Here we hear Bates’s vocals harmonized in a way that feels almost like a choir. The song pushes to its ultimate climax as Bates screams out “What you fear you have become”. Impressively, Bates switches from screaming to whispering in a matter of seconds as the wall of sound comes to a screeching halt and leaves Bates and the piano alone to utter the title of the song for the first time with only 15 seconds left in the song. Almost all of STARSET’s songs use the title in their chorus lyrics. For this song to employ its title in a whisper in the last 15 seconds is strikingly divergent from their formula.

One of the most striking differences between “Something Wicked” and the rest of STARSET’s discography is the song’s form. I conceptualize “Something Wicked” in four main sections.

The first section is from 0:00-1:32, which we’ll call the A section. 1:33-2:36, I’ve labeled as the B section. The C section lasts from 2:37-3:09. This section is signaled by Bates singing “Out of myself…”. The final section, D lasts from 3:10 to 3:44. The rest of the song, from 3:45 to the end acts as a sort of “coda” that recalls the A section but present the whispered “Something wicked this way comes”. All of these sections have distinct letter labels because they don’t have much in common in terms of melody. While the strings do foreshadow the B section melody at the end of the A section, the sections still feel distinct from each other in terms of how the song progresses. The song does not return to its previous ideas in any significant way like STARSET’s songs usually do. None of these four sections feel like they could be distinctly labeled as a “verse”, “chorus”, or “bridge”. Over the course of these four sections, A-B-C-D-coda, there is this general sense of gradual growth. D is bigger than C is bigger than B is bigger than A. Eventually, this growth gets to be so much that it just explodes. Section D literally ends with a scream. This explosion of energy makes the whispering of the ending all the more poignant, and all the more distinct from the STARSET formula.

There is something to be said also for the placement of this track within the album: the final track. Listening straight through, the last thing you hear is whispers that “Something wicked this way comes”. Is this STARSET alluding to an uber-intense, darker fifth album? It isn’t unusual for STARSET to drop hints like these. Before the release of Horizons, STARSET fans were sleuthing through encrypted messages from the band that included lore related to the band’s ongoing sci-fi narrative. Perhaps something is brewing…

[jcapehartjr]

Telling a Coming-of-Age Story through Music

One of the beautiful things about music is our instinctual habit to associate certain songs with different parts of our lives. Music has the ability to transport you in time upon the first few seconds of listening. Sometimes, the memories attached to music can even change your opinion of the song itself. They can make supposedly “bad” songs sound so much better- or, even ruin some of the greatest songs. That phenomenon can be accredited to the power of nostalgia in music. Personally, I consider myself to be a very sentimental person. I find peace in reflecting on moments in my life while listening to melodramatic music. As a nod to this joy of mine, I decided to make a playlist that reminds me of the process of growing up. To me, this playlist can serve as a soundtrack to a coming-of-age movie. Individually, each song can be associated with different chapters of life, from childhood to young adulthood. When put together, these songs offer me feelings of nostalgia and a unique feeling of comfort, and I hope you feel the same way as you listen. 

Kids - MGMT

Starting this playlist off with “Kids” by MGMT only seemed fitting to represent my adolescent years. Not only because of the on-the-nose song title, but lyrically the song is an ode to childhood and simpler times. The artist mentions in an interview with Time out London that the song was written with the intention of inducing nostalgic feelings of your youth (Source). The track opens with the sound of children joyfully cheering, and the lyrics reference the life lessons you experience as you grow. Take a listen and watch as your mind instantly floods with your happiest childhood memories.

Tongue Tied - Grouplove

The second track of my playlist is an exhilarating, heavily-synthesized, indie-pop song that has been played at almost every high school party since its initial release in 2011: “Tongue Tied” by Grouplove. I find this song to represent the wild, rebellious part of the high school experience, thus I chose it as the second track of my coming-of-age playlist. Deemed an “iconic teenage anthem” by music critic, Eva Salzman, this track does a great job of creating a combination of euphoric feelings in the listener. You simply cannot stand still when listening to it. Thirty seconds in and I'm already on my feet dancing and inviting my friends to take a shot with me.

Where'd All the Time Go? - Dr. Dog

Nostalgia is bittersweet. Sure, I can proceed to make this entire playlist an assortment of happy-go-lucky tracks that only bring back sweet memories, but that would be an unrealistic portrayal of growing up. The third track of this playlist touches on existential feelings and confusion over the fleetingness of time that took over me once I graduated high school and started my first semester of college. To represent that awkward phase of life where you’re no longer a teenager but not yet a full-fledged “adult,” I chose the song “Where’d All the Time Go?” by Dr. Dog. I came across this song about a year ago on behalf of a TikTok trend in which people would choose a photo of themselves as a child, and the photo would then morph into a more recent photo of their older selves, with this song playing in the background of the video. 

The trend itself is slightly somber in nature, and the song perfectly captures those sorrowful feelings of revisiting old pictures and reflecting on time past. My freshman year of college was filled with a lot of those moments, so I felt this track would be a great addition to the playlist, as it speaks for that relatable time in all of our lives. 

Thats No Fun - Steve Lacy

“Thats No Fun” by Steve Lacy is the fourth song I added to this playlist. It is a spunky, indie song that references self-discovery and transformation. 

“When I say change, I mean evolve

All my old friends they just dissolve

Because they stayed on the same old shit

… You see me, I'm not the type of guy

But I used to before I found my high

But they can't grasp, they don't know why

I'm not the same Steve they used to like”

Outgrowing things is a normal part of life. It’s inevitable that you’ll one day outgrow clothes, hobbies, and even friends. Lacy touches on this when he speaks about his growth and refers to these changes as himself "evolving." I associate this song with the college experience; When you move out of your hometown and engage with a new environment,  you are granted the freedom you need to evolve. College in itself is a transitional period filled with new experiences and life lessons. During this time, you'll find that things that once brought you joy, may no longer serve you. This is a natural phase of life that is incredibly common during young adulthood, and I find this song to capture those feelings beautifully.

Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - The Smiths

I decided to end this playlist on a bitter note. “Heaven Knows Im Miserable Now” by the Smiths is a melancholic, yet, swingy song about a person who is fully aware of their own misery and deep sadness in life but chooses to embrace it. Although the lyrics are pretty weepy, the song is, sonically, very upbeat. 

"I was happy in the haze of a drunken hour

But heaven knows I'm miserable now

I was looking for a job and then I found a job

And heaven knows I'm miserable now"

These lyrics in particular remind me of the stage in life, typically post-graduation, when you reach a point of disappointment. A feeling of “So.. this is it?” This is particularly noticeable in the line that references the act of joyfully seeking a job just to become unhappy once you do get hired and realize that you'll be working this job every day for the rest of your "miserable" life. What better song to realistically portray the infamous quarter-life crisis? 

Each of these songs play a different role in telling a story about life so far, from the perspective of someone in their early 20s. I believe this playlist can serve as a musical coming-of-age story, and I hope you were able to relive some of your most memorable life experiences while listening to these songs.

[jcapehartjr]

Mind Drifting Songs

Just by the title, I’m sure the term “Mind-drifting” would seem fairly new but the whole act of it is very common. It literally means what it says…your mind starts to drift away, you start staring into nothingness and all you can hear is the sound around you. When thinking about what my playlist should be about, I was “mind-drifting” while listening to probably a really known classical song by Chopin called Nocturne Op  9 no. 2 (Of course I had to include that song in my playlist). When I say that music really helps me focus, It really does!! But maybe not on the right thing I should be focusing on. This playlist I made consists of 6 songs that always tend to send my mind far away, leaving me with emptiness in my head and the sound of these songs flowing around in my ears; sometimes making me sing along. 

To start off the showcasing my playlist, I included two songs, both from the same artist named DEAN. Dean r&b artist who has made pretty famous songs. He is famous for his pretty high voice with a very smooth and melodic sound to it. Out of his many songs, I included Instagram and Come Over both really famous songs. “Instagram” is about how many people are laying down within their own thoughts which leads them to just not being able to sleep and opening Instagram again and again. I chose this song to be part of the playlist mainly because the whole vibe is trying to prevent you from having these deep thoughts. Whenever I listened to the songs, I always found myself staring into the distance, singing along, having no complete thought about anything. In this way, listening to this song sort of emptied my head, while I was studying, walking, working, or just laying down in bed. I also got this same feeling when listening to “Come Over”. Not only are the lyrics just going through my head, but it's also the combination of the instrumental and his voice that just makes me lose my train of thought. Personally speaking, Dean’s voice is just so beautiful to me that I just have to drop my pencil, sit back, and just listen to his singing. In a way, he’s like a magician just hypnotizing me with his songs. Don't get me wrong, this kind of voice is very unique and amazing, but there are times when I just kind of get sick of people singing.

That's why I jump over to my classical/instrumental songs and listen to them. The next song I included in my playlist is what I mentioned before, Nocturne Op  9 no. 2 by Chopin. Although many people may not know the title, it's probably heard one way or another. This is one of those songs that are usually played in those boujee restaurants where everyone wears suits or a local cafe that just plays classical piano music. I chose this song because it is one of my favorite songs to listen to when I try to “focus.” Whenever I try to fall asleep and empty my head, I play this song. Another song that just has this same sleeping potion in it is Howl’s moving castle’s song “Merry go round of life”. I don't usually watch anime, but this movie is an absolute masterpiece. Not only does it make my mind go blank, but it also sticks with me as I always listen to it with my mom. It’s one of those songs that I personally grew up with and it just never leaves my head. I had to include these two instrumental songs in my playlist because I’ve always experienced a few minutes of daydreaming whenever I heard my collection of classical music. 

The last two songs I included were “Until I found you” and “Versace on the floor”. I chose these songs simply because I have these on repeat while taking a walk. Wherever I’m walking, I have these on so that my mind can just be clear and I can feel the wind blow on my face. These songs are more on the romantic side and to be honest, these songs make me think about my future love life (I know its cringe but honesty is the best policy). Again, it drifts my mind to just imagining and daydreaming, just like all the other songs mentioned previously. Both of these songs, I’ve discovered from my friend. He usually plays Versace on the floor while driving at night since it has that kind of vibe. I was with him recently and he played until I found you and I just automatically fell in love with the song. I thought to myself  “I have to know the lyrics to this song.”

So you might be wondering why I made a playlist about my mind drifting away. From my perspective, Mind-drifting gets me out of reality, even if it is just for a few moments. Whenever I face trouble or feel a little lost mentally, it gets hard to just keep thinking. Listening to songs like any of the ones mentioned gets rid of all those problems, even for just a few moments. Those small moments give me this kind of reset to rethink and help me overcome any problem I have. These small moments help me feel encouraged to keep going because of the music playing through my ears. I don't know about anyone else, but even though my mind drifts away while listening to these songs, these small moments of just nothing but music help me get through a lot. Mind drifting does a lot for me and maybe it can for you too:) Has anyone ever felt the same experience? Ever catch yourself staring into the distance with nothing in your head but music? Think about it!! Thanks for reading the blog:) Here's the playlist for you to see the songs.

[jcapehartjr]

Dad's Playlist

My music taste is a bit like a sponge, absorbing a little bit of everything from everywhere, but some of the foundational parts of my music taste are influenced from the music taste of my father. He is one of the most influential figures in my life, and I lost him in April of 2021. He was a hard worker and an inspiration to me like no one else can be. Our relationship was a close one, and music was one of the ways through which we connected best. One way that I am able to sustain that connection is by listening to the music that he liked, that he showed me, or just music that reminds me of him for one reason or another. I’ve compiled a playlist of just some of that music in the hopes of sharing the music that he found special, and why I too find it special.

Thriller – Michael Jackson

So, I’m well aware that this is a weird place to start. Bear with me. As a child of the 80s, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album was the first my dad ever owned. During my childhood, I was drawn to some of the music of Michael Jackson, and some of his best work came from the “Thriller” album. I also find myself reminded of the fact that my dad always went the extra mile to draw a laugh or a smile out of those he cared about, stepping to the center of the dance floor at family weddings and get-togethers, and I would join him. The brand of 80s dance pop that Michael Jackson epitomized has the perfect energy to invoke that joyful spirit that he always aimed to create. Another thing to note: one cannot discuss “Thriller” (the song) without acknowledging its Halloween implications. My dad was not always a big Halloween fan, but he was a builder. His passion for creation led to some clever-but-uncomfortable Halloween costumes made with cardboard and ingenuity.

Train Kept a Rollin’ – Aerosmith

My dad loved Aerosmith. It would be impossible for me to compile a playlist of his music without Aerosmith involved. He would rant about this song’s album Get Your Wings as well as Toys in the Attic. This song features the particular riff-heavy, chugging rock sound that my dad loved. He never had any official music training (beyond attempting to teach himself guitar, which I only found out about after his passing), but he was always captivated by the drums. Drummers like Motley Crue’s Tommy Lee filled his playlists. The chugging snare drum interlude in “Train Kept a Rollin’”, as simple as it is technically, is part of the rock sound my dad always loved.

Live Like You Were Dyin’ – Tim McGraw

Country music is a genre that my dad found a love for in his adult life, and one that I’ve grown up to love as well. Tim McGraw’s smooth voice telling heartfelt stories like in this song epitomize the sort of country music he and I always loved most, as opposed to the “bro country” about tractors, trucks, and drinking. As I mentioned, my dad didn’t have any “real” musical training, but he could sing along with Tim so well, and I was always impressed by it. This song feels particularly poignant to listen to now after his passing considering the not-so-subtle themes of the precious yet ephemeral nature of life. The opening line “He said I was in my early forties, with a lotta life before me” hits home in particular as well, because my dad was only 42 at the time of his passing. This song, though difficult for me to listen to at times, is one I always come back to when I’m thinking of him.

One Day You Will – Lady A

I was looking through the discography of this wonderful country trio and struggling to pick just one song of theirs that reminded me of my dad. I decided to text my sister to ask which song she associated most with him. She quickly sent this song over. It’s one I hadn’t actually considered, but I realized how perfect it really is. Upon listening to it, I was immediately transported back in time: blasting Lady A music in the car. The presence of a low male voice and a higher female voice gave everyone in the car a part to sing, and allowed us all to sing together and connect through this music. And accompanying the beautifully harmonized vocals, a gorgeous pad of strings and guitars. As I listened today, I realized that the lyrics almost feel like a message from him, or at least a message to grieving souls, that things will be ok, even if they seem difficult now.

Snowblind Friend – Steppenwolf

Much like the closeness I feel with my dad, he felt a similar closeness with his. We always called my dad’s father Pop, and Pop loved Steppenwolf. He met lead singer John Kay so many times that Kay remembered Pop by name. Much like I cannot separate my dad from the music of Aerosmith, Pop cannot be separated from the music of Steppenwolf. This song in particular is one of the Steppenwolf songs that resonated with my dad. Pop passed away in March of 2019. He and my father now reside in the same cemetery in Camden, NJ.

Sweet Annie – Zac Brown Band

Another smooth country voice that my dad could emulate impressively well, Zac Brown and his band are a group that create some of the most heartfelt country music I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing. They are master storytellers, and this song proves that. This sentimental ode to a loved one is filled with gorgeous vocal harmonies and beautifully poetic lyrics that made this song a favorite of mine and my father’s.

I’m Movin’ On – Rascal Flatts

My dad remembered exactly where he was the first time he heard this song. He told me so about a thousand times. It was one of those songs that came on at just the time he needed to hear it. Rascal Flatts is a country group that is admittedly guilty of some of those country songs that are just about drinking (and some of those songs are actually pretty great), but songs like these challenge that stereotype and carry with them so much meaning, soul, and heart. This song possibly spawned a love of 6/8 ballads that my dad didn’t even know he had. One night, I remember listening to music with him and I noticed that a lot of the songs he really liked were all slow 6/8 ballads. Out of the entire playlist, it was this song that came closest to bringing me to tears, which made me appreciate the long silence at the end of the track so much more. The fact that this song presents such deep personal themes and actually gives you a moment of silence to digest them is so powerful.

Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton was a country voice that my dad found later in his adult life, so it isn’t one I grew up with like Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, or Lady A. Even still, Stapleton’s voice and his style resonated deeply with my dad. This was one of his favorites of Stapleton’s discography. Though I personally don’t connect with this song quite as much as many of the others on this list, it only felt right that I include it.

Desperado – Clint Black

This is a cover of a song by The Eagles. I didn’t realize that when my dad showed me this cover one day in his truck, but he seemed to like this version more than the original. Clint Black’s voice and the instrumental arrangement seem to have resonated more with my dad than The Eagles’ version. Another example of the heartfelt, narrative-driven songs that he was drawn to, this is another song I couldn’t leave out.

My Wish – Rascal Flatts

“My Wish” is one of the best songs in Rascal Flatts’ lengthy discography. This is another of their sincere, sentimental songs that really feels like a message directly from him. “My wish for you is that this life becomes all that you want it to.” More than anything else, my dad reiterated constantly to my sister and I, that he wanted what was best for us. He was such a dedicated father, brother, son, and person in general. He danced to this song with his niece, Ashley, at her wedding. He was the favorite uncle to all my cousins, and he was always the handyman of the family. He worked tirelessly to give everything that he could for us, and this song feels like the closest thing I can get to him talking directly to me.

This music, and music in general is so valuable and powerful. It has the power to connect people and even to bring back those we’ve lost. Music was one of the ways my dad and I best connected during his life, and it remains such to this day. Nothing can replace the moments I had with him, but these songs can at least invoke the memories and the feelings of those moments. I hope that others can connect with this music in some way and find some value and meaning in it.

[jcapehartjr]

Community in Orchestra

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”(John 6:9) For those who don’t know, this verse comes from an infamous story in the bible where Jesus feeds 5000+ people with only five loaves and 2 fish. Being part of a Christian community for my whole life, I was able to learn so many things, especially when it comes to music. One thing that really stuck with me as I was growing up was the ability to learn and play the violin. With many other people, within my church and people from around the globe, my church was able to form an orchestra group called 5 Loaves & 2 Fish orchestra. Based on the bible verse John chapter 6 verse 9, we wanted to raise people who had an interest in musical instruments to help others in need. It’s been a while since we were to perform, due to Covid, but thinking back to those years really makes me miss my time as I was playing in those concerts. Someone made a video dedicated to us, and watching this video really makes me happy about how much we were able to help others.

To be honest, I think this blog is gonna be a little trip down memory lane and how my experiences made me who I am today. I was able to perform in 5 of the concerts shown here. My review for being part of these concerts can be described in four words: Okay performance, amazing experience. Let me explain.

Performances were ok while playing them in the concerts. Looking back, I think one thing we definitely could’ve done better is practice more. Although we met every Saturday to rehearse, individually, we definitely could have done more. The quote “Practice makes perfect” is definitely something to remember when comes to being part of an orchestra. For example, we played Canon rock and the performance was kind of…eh.

I still remember the time while playing this. I was in the 2nd violin section and I would always be a little behind cause it got fast for me at some parts; I would even skip some notes too if I had to. But so many of us would skip, that it ended up kind of sounding messy. I still remember talking about it with everyone when going backstage during intermission. We always made fun of each other for it. But we did have some good performances as well!. At our 9th concert, we had a singer, named Ahn Se Kwon: 2nd place in Korea’s got talent. I still remember when we played with him, I got goosebumps every time while listening to him. The video doesn't do it justice, but here it is. Start from 22:54 In my opinion, it was one of the best performances I’ve ever played in and it was an honor to play for such an amazing singer. So overall, our performances were ok, not bad. The one thing that I definitely miss is the experience

The experience of just gathering together and practicing, the thoughts in my head while playing, performing for many people, and many more will never leave my memories. I made many friends who I still talk to today and I’ve met amazing, talented people. I remember always complaining about going to rehearsals, but I realize now that I would do anything to rewind time to those moments of just struggling together to pour our hearts out through this music. It made me fall in love with all types of music and made me open to trying out new genres. I think performing in these concerts really showed me that music is more than just sounds and notes. It’s also about passion, heart, and experiences. Music does so much more than just entertain our ears. It brings together a community of people who can relate to each other, work together for a better cause, or just have fun. Overall, being part of the orchestra is probably one of the most precious memories that will be forever with me, because it shaped my view on music from entertainment to ears to a whole new world of creativity and community. If you want to watch a concert, here's a link you can watch. Thanks for reading

[jcapehartjr]

The greatest musician no knows!

A few weeks ago, I and a group of friends had the pleasure of watching the great Abraham Burton, an incredible saxophonist and musician, as well as my teacher, live at the Smalls Jazz Club in New York. This was possibly the greatest experience of my life.

Abraham Burton is a jazz musician based in New Jersey, who is an active member in the New York Jazz Scene. He has recorded with some of the best musicians of all time, such as Art Taylor, Louis Hayes, and the Mingus Big Band, and is has played live regularly both as a band leader, and as a section player in groups such as the Mingus Big Band and Village Vanguard. He is possibly Jackie McLeans greatest student, having been the chosen one to inherit h Mcleans Yamaha 62 alto sax.

Burton has been an active performer at smalls for years now, performing very regularly both as a headliner and as a sideman, though on this night, he was head and center, and it was incredible.

The set began with an original tune by Prof. Burton, an up tempo vamp, immediately into a piano solo over said vamp. Pianist Davis Whitfield perfectly paces his solo, simultaneously increasing the tension and intensity slowly, while never saying too much too fast. Prof's exciting return to solo using a mix of jazz language so bad I almost fell out of my seat, and avante garde improv in just enough volume to make you question reality. This solo lasts almost 10 minutes, but never loses its draw on the listener. Just a perfect solo, followed up by a drum solo by the baddest drummer on this side of the planet, Eric McPhearson, who plays a gorgeously medlodic solo, unique in this day of jazz.

The pacing slows as the bassist, Elam Friedlander, takes the head for another incredible solo. The tune continues and morphs for another 20 minutes or so, before a brief yet inspiring few words from Prof. Burton, before beginning the ballad; Misty.

Misty is opened with a soulful cadenza allowing Prof to show off just how capable he is, not just in straight ahead or avante garde music, but in any vibe he is playing. His solos are melodic and deep, both emotionally and theoretically. Davis Whitfield's solo is just as gorgeous, shaping the group to be a real powerhouse of players.

The whole performance really just is over 5 or so tunes per set, merged together by the artistry of these musicians, extending for 30 minutes at a time without a break in the set. Prof. Burtons ability to expand his music for so long and still generate new ideas throughout is astoundingly incredible. His deep understanding of the jazz genre and its history, and yet the individuality of his voice as a musician, to me, show why he is one of the greatest musicians alive today.