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Queen of The Whip Sophomore Anna McQueeny finds a new side of herself after joining a band called The Whips and helped them win in the semi-finals of the Roxy Battle of the Bands Competition. BY SELA KINCAID REPORTER
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tepping onto a half-lit stage with vibrant lights pointing to random spots on the stage all around her, sophomore Anna McQueeny takes a few steps towards her mic, takes a deep breath and begins singing in front of a cheering crowd for only the second time in her life. With every song, McQueeny gets more and more comfortable jumping up and down and swinging her arms around. The crowd mimics her, singing and jumping to the beat. McQueeny can’t stop smiling, realizing how fun it can be to try new things. “I’m onstage, singing with a band and it just clicked and everything just flowed,” McQueeny said. “The guys are super cool and make me feel more confident.” McQueeny had only sang with her band, The Whips, once before in the semi-finals of Battle of the Bands at The Roxy, where they won. This allowed McQueeny to advance into the final competition, Aug. 31, at Roxy Bar. The Whips are an Indie-Rock, alternative band. Their style is influenced off of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Eagles. They showcased seven songs, including McQueeny singing “Redbone” by Childish Gambino and a duet of “One of these Nights” by The Eagles with Shawnee Mission East junior and lead singer, Aidan Connelly. But The Whips did not win the last competition and have yet to make plans for a future show. “I’ve never been in anything like a band before,” McQueeny said. “I have only been in musical theatre [for one year]. That was it.” McQueeny met The Whips on a Tuesday, three days before her first competition with them that Friday. McQueeny was looking at a new exciting chapter in her high school life. Not only was it McQueeny’s first time on stage singing, but it was her parent’s first time watching her perform in front of an audience. “Her dad and I were halfway giggling and halfway crying because we were so proud of her,” McQueeny’s mother, Julie McQueeny said. “It goes to show you, you can never try too many new things. She’s a good example for that, even if it’s just for me.” Sophomore Addie Vance was the first to tell McQueeny about The Whips. They needed a fill-in lead singer because Connelly was not able to make it to the competition. McQueeny wanted to see if she could take the open spot, sending the band a video of her singing “Redbone.” McQueeny anxiously and continuously re-sang “Redbone” until she was satisfied with it. “I did it like three different times, I just kept redoing it for a bit, because I was really nervous,” McQueeny said. She said letting someone else hear her sing for the first time, and doing it by sending a video to a group of strangers, was not an easy thing
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to do. The Whips were excited to see if she could be a new addition and the band quickly choose to add McQueeny. “The first time we heard her sing was when she sent us a video of herself singing ‘Redbone’ and she could hit all of those notes. That’s when we got excited to see what she could do,” SME senior, Max Indiveri said. The Whips include Connelly as lead singer, McQueeny as supporting singer, Indiveri on piano and guitar, SME junior Miles Patterson on drums, SME junior Vincent Lee on guitar, and SME junior Quinn Cosgrove on bass. The contest consisted of two rounds and audience members voted for the winner. “It was pretty crazy, but a good surprise,” Julie said, after McQueeny joined the band officially on Aug. 17. McQueeny was not originally planning on becoming a part of the band long-term. She originally just auditioned to perform once and call it a day. But the parents of a fellow band member encouraged McQueeny to become a part of the group. So for now, she decided to go with it to see where it will take her. They said she was a natural from her first performance, with no fear when on stage. In her own bubble of music, McQueeny is able to show people what she can do. “It was more a fun thing than a scary thing,” McQueeny said. “We just shake it all out, get loose and then go on.” The Whips have opened up a new part of McQueeny’s life, and it continues to intrigue her. Outside of her studies, outside of her sports and making her way into drama and the arts, McQueeny has gone full circle. She said she never thought she would end up in a band when she was little. Now, she showcases her talent with ease on stage with The Whips. “I felt cool,” McQueeny said, “ you know it just felt super cool.”
