F rte
December 2013
theINcrowd 5 The art of navigating the crowd
Musical Stereotypes Rock and Country and how they differ 8
Jason Caviola A profile on a local musician 10 Forte
1
Table Contents of
3 4
Letter From the Editor
Staff Biographies
5
The In Crowd : Dive Into the Concert
8
Musical Stereotypes: A Who’s Who of Music
10 12
Jason Caviola: The Life of a Professional Musician The School of Rock: The Kids That Rock
2 Forte Picture By Some PErson
LETTER from the
Editors
at forte we are very enthusiastic about our music. From Country to Rock, we like to pretend we know our stuff. We were very excited to see how the pieces we did on these genres evolved, whether they were profiles on musicians, such as Jason Caviola, or information on up and coming artists at the School of Rock Austin. We saw that over time a correlation can be found between all the different parts of music, something that links all music-lovers, musicplayers and music-creators. This sense of unity is profound enough to merit a magazine of its own. It represents so many of the things we find exciting and maybe even a little frightening about music today. Where will the music scene head next? What will be the classics of the 21st Century when historians look back to our tastes in music? Regardless of your tolerance of our odd music tastes and bodacious writing, it’s hard to argue against our message. Music is a tool that’s been used for centuries to show important points about society and the livelihood of an era.
Picture by Staff
SINCERELY,
Forte
3
Biographies Robbie “kohlrabi� Rodriguez is a long time fan of country music and an ardent guitarist. He takes his inspiration from Eric Church, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton. He spends his time talking to his homies, doing homework, and playing guitar. He also loves sports, including baseball and basketball among his favorites. He is from Austin, Texas. His city has largely influenced his taste in music and his love of guitar, ranging back to artists such as Stevie Ray Vaughan whose legacy remains in Austin. Robbie takes guitar lessons from Jason Caviola, a proffesional musician whose profile is featured in this magazine.
Pictures by Staff
Ben enjoys playing guitar and bass at the School of Rock Austin. He has played guitar for five years and some of his favorite bands include Led Zeppelin and The Arctic Monkeys. Ben was born in Dallas and moved to Austin around age seven. The School of Rock is a huge commitment which Ben attends everyday. He enjoys spending time with friends and family, working out for the ladies, and playing all of his instruments.
4 Forte
“I just go where the guitar takes me� Angus Young
Forte
5
The IN Crowd At a concert, most of the vibe comes from your position in the crowd. If you sit by yourself, you get left out of the crazy rocking going on close to the stage. The performer gets paid to entertain us, so you’d think everyone would want a spot at the front. However, some people prefer seats far from the action. “I prefer the middle area of a concert. That is where I can have space but still not be excluded completely,” said LASA freshman Andrew Plaisance.
STAGE 4
3
2
This shows all the different places people usually stand at a concert. Which one are you?
6 Forte
Picture by Staff
Where Are You? Front and center stage requires the most effort and money depending on the venue, but also gives out the highest reward. Here people get to experience the concert from up close. You might get pushed around, but for some the closeness to the band and the energy of the people around you makes the concert more alive. The front has the die-hard fans, who wait hours just to get close to their idols. “If a concert is general admission, the people in front earned their spots. They got there early and laid claim to their space. The people all the way in front might have even spent all day camped out by the doors,” said Andy Stone, a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine. People avoid this area if they do not have the patience and enthusiasm it takes to maximize the experience of being front and center.
Younger children may sit out here with their parents. At indoor concerts these people have seats far from the artist. At that distance you have to look at the giant screens to know what is happening. This section is for the people just happy to get out, with little concern for who is playing. No one bothers people sitting out here because they have it the way they want it. People who enjoy this area think like Robert Plant, the lead vocalist for Led Zeppelin.
“I daresay one good concert justifies a week of satisfaction at home,” - Robert Plant
Behind the die-hard fans you get the average concertgoer. This group spreads out around the first group, making an arc. They still stand close to the band and they also want to see the action, but some of the energy dissipates. Great times happen here, but the certainty of a loud and crazy concert might not present itself. Here people know quite a bit about the artist and would love to have a spot at the front, but do not have the patience or money to wait in long lines. At the edges of the crowd you find the people who just want to enjoy a concert without the hectic energy of the close-packed fans. At outside concerts you start to find people sitting down, enjoying the weather as well as the band. At inside concerts on the edges, you find people who want to talk to their friends while listening to the music, making the concert a casual affair. Often people in this group don’t know much about the band, although this doesn’t make the experience any less enjoyable. The last groups of people come to relax and listen to some good music. The pressure to interact with the band or the crowd lessens. At outdoor concerts people in this area usually sit down on blankets with snacks and drinks. A picture of Manchester Stadium with the crowd.
Picture by Andy Buckingham
Forte
7
What Are You Looking At? There is a man named Travis, we all know someone like him. He is the kind of guy that like to wear flannel shirts, blue jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat. He look like he just rolled out from under a trailer and he loves, and I mean loves to drink beer. Now, if you were a betting man, what would you guess was his favorite genre of music. You would probably guess country right? With that answer you would be correct. For another example, there is a guy named Derrick, similar to Travis, we all know someone quite like him. Derrick dresses in all black, has piercings and tattoos, has a funky hairdo and possibly wear a like bit of makeup. You would guess that Derrick’s favorite type of music is hard
rock or punk rock, and again you would be correct. Although just because they dress this way and act a certain way doesn’t mean that they can’t enjoy other types of music. These stereotypes of how fans of a certain music genre should act and dress like should not be able to limit us to what types of music we enjoy listening to. A prominent country music artist, Luke Bryan, said “You assume a rock artist is a drug addict, you assume a country artist is rolled out from under the trailer. Those are just natural stereotypes. I think what’s so great about music is that people are really giving all genres now a fair start.” I will compare and contrast the stereotypical country and rock music fans.
James
The Natural Stereotypes He listens to music at extreme levels of volume. So loud that you wonder why his ear drums have not committed suicide yet.
Neel Rao, a lover of rock and rap music said, “My parents do not fully appreciate my choices in music.”
Dressed in all black, he has trouble making friends, and looks like a freak to his peers. Except for others of his own stature.
Photo by Robert Knight
8 Forte
The Prime Examples
These stereotypes should not tear these genres apart, but bring us together, knowing that these genres are different, but very similar. An example of the genres similarities is “The Eagles”, they first started as a country band, and then perfectly transitioned into a rock band. Then, becoming one of the most celebrated bands ever. Darius Rucker was the lead singer for “Hootie & The Blowfish” who were an extremely popular rock band in the 90’s. In 2008, Rucker started his solo career in country music and is still very successful in that genre. Rock and country are not all that different and these examples prove that. We should embrace the similarities of the two genres and so should the fans. Just because a person enjoys AC/DC doesn’t mean that they can be ostracized from other music genre communities.
Travis
Though stereotypes can be somewhat comedic and relevant, you cannot predict a persons choices in music styles just by looking at them.
“Appearance, clothing, and racial differences shouldn’t have to apply to what types of music we can and cannot enjoy” -Madeline Lee
The Natural Stereotypes A cattle ranching hick who lives in Texas and enjoys spending time playing on his fiddle.
He enjoys his wide variety of red flannel shirts, and unbuttons so you can see only a little chest hair, in addition to his unkept beard.
Wearing a 10 gallon cowboy hat with a feather through it, huge belt buckle, and boots, Travis always looks like he wants to go two stepping.
Picture by Tambako The Jaguar
Forte
9
Jason Caviola The Life of a Professional Musician Written by Robert Roriguez On a Tuesday afternoon I arrive at home and prepare for my guitar practice with my guitar teacher Jason Caviola, or “J” as his students call him. Jason shows up at my front door at exactly 4:30. He knocks on the door three times and I hurry down the stairs to let him in. He bursts through the door gasping for air and proceeds to walk through the house to grab himself a glass of water. After about 5 minutes of cooling off, we both walk to the office and I turn on my amp. I pick up my guitar and begin to play whatever I had been studying, on my guitar. As I play, Jason cracks some cheesy jokes and comments on my improvement and my performance. Jason Caviola did not have a large number of opportunities growing up in a poor Italian household in New York. He had a rough early childhood but his supportive parents, his music teacher, and his numerous bands kept him going strong. “My dad, even though we were very poor he made sure we had enough money to rent the violin, for me from school. It was 30 dollars a year,” Jason said. When he found an opening, he ran with it and moved to Austin to pursue his music career. Caviola plays in bands from time to time, but what he really enjoys is teaching. He works his hardest to provide his students with unsurpassed knowledge of their chosen instrument. Everyday of the school week Jason rides his bike to the houses of students to have a personal one on one music session. Jason Caviola has played guitar for country and hard rock bands. He had a rough life growing up, but his supportive parents, his music teacher, and his numerous bands kept him going strong. We will dive into his childhood to see how his early struggles in life molded him in the caring music teacher he is today. Jason was introduced
10 Forte
“It’s like work, you have to set up your instruments and get your guitar tuned and it sounds almost like not fun, but when you’re doing it, its like the greatest thing you could ever imagine,” to playing music during his early years of public school. He participated in the school orchestra, band, and chorus. The first instrument he picked up was the violin, during his days in the schools’ orchestra. “I experienced a lot of concerts and school events, that really shaped my life, at one point in time my orchestra class went to Washington DC, and another time we went to Italy for a couple weeks.” Playing at numerous concerts and musical events, Jason found that music was put entirely in his life to a point where he was playing music everyday. When Jason was in high school, he knew that he was going to attempt to become a professional musician. During his time that Jason spent in high school he participated in numerous bands. His first ever band was a middle school band named “Black Magic”. “Our logo was a big eye with wings, one eyeball with bat wings. The first songs we learned was “Here I Go Again” on my own by Whitesnake and Stairway to Heaven, and I think Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana, and we were not good. The singer kinda maybe got the words right, I don’t think he got the pitches right ever. But I’ll tell you what, the first band was probably in tenth or eleventh grade, you go into a basement with your guitar, sometimes freezing, you set up your instrument. Its like work, you have to set up your instruments and get your guitar tuned and it sounds almost like not fun, but when you’re doing it, its like the greatest thing you could ever imagine, you’re setting up and we are going to get our volumes right and just play rock and roll, and its just the greatest feeling,” said Jason. After high school Caviola went to college in Fredonia, New York. There were many bands and musicians present at the college. This is when Jason first experienced a real music scene, and only further
Jason playing guitar at the Oasis in Austin Texas
inspired him to pursue a career in music. Jason’s parents were very supportive throughout his process to become a professional musician. Even though his family was very poor, his father set aside money to make sure that they would have enough money to rent Jason’s instruments. His mom was a singer, so even from a very early age, Jason was exposed to music. “One of the reason I became a teacher because there were people that really help me know that I wanted to do, and support me, and kinda help me keep my spirits up through growing up. That’s why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place because I wanted to share that back with other people,” said Jason. At age 18, Jason Caviola became a professional music and played at many concerts and recital in and around his college town Fredonia. His first ever legitimate band was called Joey in the Bubble, and they played together for 12 years. “One could almost say I am still in the band, I just live in Texas now,” said Jason.
Picture by Ted Long
Jason moved to Austin, they stopped playing and he cut off all connections to the band, but they never formally broke up. Recently, Jason playedguitar for Brandon Bolin who was a Texas country music star. Bolin recorded an album in Nashville and had an agent that booked them at venues all over Texas. On average they played four times a week, and were able to play on big stages. They opened up some big names such as Elizabeth Cook, Guy Forsyth, and Steve Helms who are very big in the Texas music scene. “One of the best things for me was the radio tour, I had never been in a radio station and got to play live. We did about 25 of them. We would go in and they would interview him because he is the main guy in the band. In country music there is usually the main guy, and they don’t really interview the drummer or the bass player. I play guitar so I got to play guitar and harmonize and play guitar on the air, so I got to do that about 25 times and it was really interesting for me.” Presently, Jason enjoys spending time with his many students, and helping them to become better musicians and better people. He will continue to be in bands from time to time, but his real passion is to teach.
Forte
11
12 Forte Picture By Jason Ramsey
The New Kind of Student
By Ben Deterling Ian McCord pulls up to the curb in front of the shopping mall. He gets out of the car, drumsticks in hand, and heads towards the building with the red awning. He walks inside and gets greeted by the woman at the front desk. He signs in and waits for his teacher. Ian plays music at the Austin School of Rock where he is waiting to start his drum lesson. He comes here three times a week to practice and learn different instruments. Many children play at the Austin School of Rock, but few have as much dedication as Ian. Forte
13
The Austin School of Rock operates a single branch of an organization that has franchises in the US, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, and Brazil. They provide not only a musical education for kids age 8 to 18, but also an opportunity to perform live at venues near where they live. “I think that at some point maybe a quarter of our schools will be international. Right now we have about 120, and about 10 are international,” said the Director of the Austin School of Rock, Rick Carney. Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2013 Top 500 Franchise Opportunities featured the School of Rock in their list, naming it 211th. The School of Rock offers instruction for electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, keys, and vocals. 10,000 children currently receive instruction in the program, and more join every year. The School of Rock started in Philadelphia in 2002 after Paul Green, the original owner, noticed that his students learned faster when they practiced in a group. He established a permanent location that all of the later Schools were eventually modeled after. He wanted students to perform in front of a live audience. The first ever live performance was held in an art gallery in Philadelphia. Over time another School opened in Philadelphia. Soon they spread to other cities around the United States. Paul Green sold the company to Sterling Partners in 2005, and the name changed from “The Paul Green School of Rock” to the “School of Rock”. Two movies went through production about the School of Rock. The first, a documentary titled “Rock School” featured Paul Green and his School of Rock. The second is the famous “School of Rock” movie featuring Jack Black as a substitute teacher that converts his students into all-out rockers. Paramount Pictures never admitted to knowing of the existence of Paul Green’s School of Rock, but many believe the franchise inspired the movie. In the coming weeks the Austin School of Rock will play alongside eight other Schools in Austin, Texas. They are gathering for the School of Rock Texas Fest. Coordinating an event this large must present a challenge. Finding the venues at which to host such a large event seems even more daunting. “There are so many good venues in Austin, and actually almost all of them would like us to play,” said Carney. The School of Rock Texas Fest came about this year in part because of the growing amount of franchises in Texas. Many of the larger cities in Texas have upwards of three Schools. The festival means to show 14 Forte
The Students That Rock “As a teacher over the years I’ve
learned how to teach better as well, its definitely different than when I taught out of a little shop,
”
off the skills of all of the students, but also to teach newer Schools how to go about performing and holding shows. Teachers at the School of Rock all come from extensive musical backgrounds. Their specialties range from rock and heavy metal to funk and reggae. Often times instructors will teach multiple instruments. Instructors at the School of Rock also have the option to direct a show each season, something unique to music performance programs. Most Schools have between one and four shows each season, with three seasons in a year. “As a teacher over the years I’ve learned how to teach better as well, its definitely different than when I taught out of a little shop,” said guitar and bass teacher Aaron Mason. Mason has been instructing at the School for six years. He sees teaching as not only a learning experience for the students, but for the teachers as well. “I think teaching is a learning experience in itself too, there’s always progress that you experience when you teach independently or at School of Rock,” said Mason. Many students from the Schools across the country have gone on to play music in a professional setting. Eric and Julie Slick, two students of the Philadelphia School, now play as the rhythm section for Adrian Belew’s band.
Picture by Jason Ramsey
School of Rock bass drum being mic’d for a gig.
“Even here at School of Rock Austin, Gina Spigarelli, who was our second student and a national all-star, plays with touring bands like My Jerusalem and John Wesley Coleman,” said Carney. Spigarelli also works as a bass instructor at the Austin School of Rock, teaching students who aspire to play like her.
“I think teaching is a learning
experience in itself too, there’s always progress that you experience when you teach independently or at School of Rock,
”
Forte
15
Rhapsody subscribers can listen to more than 16 MILLION tracks. There is no limit to the amount of freedom you can have with Rhapsody. Rhapsody is truly music without w Limits. 16 Forte