MAD Mode was the creation of lots of caffeine, all-nighters, and teamwork. We strove to make our creation great, and it succeeded. I’m so proud of how far we have come. However, I am also excited to see where it will go when we hand it off. I know the next generation of MAD Mode heads will take our magazine further than it has gone before.
Catherine:
This issue is bittersweet. As the school year comes to an end, so does our time at MAD MODE. We began as a pair of roommates with some wonderful volunteers, friends, and our own wardrobes. I’m so happy that I witnessed an idea flourish and grow.
Kate:
The Rock Issue highlights grunge, punk, and rock aesthetics. Fashion is often thought of as influenced by wealthy designers, haute couture, and from behind closed doors. However, these styles originate from everyday people–the majority. We’d like to celebrate this.
With exclusive interviews from the band manager, Layomi Odusanya!
L: How was the process of learning the bass for you?
F: I started learning how to play bass the summer before junior year, so it’s been a little less than two years for me. It wasn’t a split-second decision, but it feels like it because one day I just got it with my own money. I was like, this is an investment, so I forced myself to learn how to play it because I’ve always been intrigued by how the bass sounds. Especially with my hearing loss, it’s easier for me to hear than higher pitched instruments like the guitar. I taught myself for about 6 months then I had a teacher for a few lessons, so I’m mostly self-taught.
L: What is music to you?
J: I think that music is whatever you need it to be. It can be a safe haven, and it can be a friend in a way. There’s really no limit. That’s why we see it everywhere. It’s so human to be involved with music and to need it. I know that the meaning of music changes day-to-day for me. Sometimes I need to relate to a personal story, but sometimes I listen to something that I don’t relate to at all to escape the things that I’m dealing with. When I write music, that is my outlet for anything and everything. Sometimes I write about my relationship with myself and my body and it’s such a beautiful thing. That probably sounds cheesy but I think that it can be whatever you need it to be and that’s what’s so beautiful about it.
L: How do you deal with nerves? You always look so at home on stage.
N: I don’t, ha ha. I’m flattered that you think that. I haven’t fully learned how to deal with the nerves yet. I’m not as cool and calm before I get on stage as when I am on stage. But I did grow up with music, so that might have helped a little bit, and my dad has been doing this his entire life. It’s what he came to this country to do and what I will do for the rest of my life no matter what. It’s what gets me up in the morning, it’s my soundtrack for everything I do every day, and it’s just one of those things that I’d never be able to live without. It keeps me sane, but it makes me go insane. It’s like a double-edged sword in that way. That’s how I stay sane.
L: What do you think of the relationship between music and fashion?
J: Okay, starting with music and fashion, both of these things are very important to me. For me, if I ever try to perform and I don’t feel confident in whatever I’m in, I won’t be able to perform to the best of my abilities. I feel like in that regard, having clothes that make you feel confident in yourself is very, very important. Both of them are also forms of self-expression that are often intertwined. When you think about the history of rock & roll, there is a history of fashion right beside it. When you think about hip-hop, it’s the same thing.
L: And I’m wondering, what is music to you? You can answer that however you like, but what does it mean to you?
E: To me, it’s an outlet. I love making playlists and I have these different artists that I found at different points of my life, in great and not so great moments. For instance, I found Greta Van Fleet during a bad time in my life and I feel like they really helped me because their music gave me peace of mind and strength. Ultimately, music is how I express myself and such an intrinsic part of me. I feel deeply connected to it.
L: Who would you love to play the keys for on tour?
Y: I really want to play keys for Taylor Swift, she’s my favorite artist. I love her talent, the vibe at the concert, and most importantly her songs. It will be very enjoyable to play keys while listening to her singing.
L: How did you learn the piano to such an advanced level?
Y: I started learning piano when I was 4 and persistently practiced till nowadays. Instead of saying that I am at an advanced level, I would say I am more familiar with the piano.
“Music, I think, is the organization of the human brain. It brings people together.”
-Jasmine Brothers
Walking the streets of any major city in the US, you’re likely to encounter someone wearing ripped jeans. They are a major fashion trend now, but have you ever wondered: “When did it become acceptable to wear pants with holes?” Let me tell you about punk rock.
Punk, a subgenre of rock music and fashion, began in New York City in the 1970s. Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground, the Ramones, the New York Dolls, and the Sex Pistols were particularly influential on the genre. In contrast with the velvet, bejeweled costumes of popular rock bands of the time, the basis of punk rock fashion was worn t-shirts and, of course, distressed jeans.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the U.S. working class would often wear ripped jeans as they were unable to afford new pairs. As was the case for Joey Ramone, lead singer of the Ramones. Before the punk rock movement, it was shameful to have holes in your jeans. The bands at the forefront of the genre changed that.
In 1974, Vivienne Westwood collaborated with Malcom McLaren, the Sex Pistols’ band manager. They opened a clothing boutique in London, called Sex, dedicated to opposing mainstream fashion. They sold clothes with safety pins, graphic tees with slogans, and denim with intentional rips, tears, and stains. At the time, these styles symbolized anger, isolation, and individual freedom—the major themes of the punk rock movement. Young baby boomers embraced punk rock fashion as a means of rebellion against authority.
In the following decades, ripped jeans entered luxury fashion and became part of other rock subgenres. In the eighties, big designers like Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein, and Jordache premiered a variety of distressed denim styles: acid wash, stone wash, ripped, and shredded. In the late eighties to early nineties, grunge emerged in Seattle with noteworthy bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. The grunge movement reinforced the ripped jeans trend by promoting thrifting and secondhand clothing.
Nearly fifty years later, ripped jeans are a staple in many young American’s wardrobes. So, next time you pass someone wearing distressed denim, remember its rebellious origin in the punk rock scene of the 1970s.
Function in Disaster would also like to welcome their newest member: Natalie Turner ‘25
Kate Eisenreich ‘23
Catherine Ndumbalo ‘23
Feli Badji ‘23
Nidhi Gumpella ‘23
Feli Badji ‘23
Jules Wade ‘23
Jasmine Brothers ‘24
Ele Rocha ‘24
Elshadai Bereda ‘23
Sydney Burgess ‘25
Rose Cecchi ‘23
Ally Divittorio ‘24
Eve Hawkins ‘25
Mae Lake ‘26
Erika Lee ‘26
Madeline Madden ‘26
Gail McKinney ‘26
Ivy Njuguna ‘24
Nissi Chepkirui Sigei ‘24
Yuhan (Yoyo) Song ‘24
Layomi Odusanya ‘24
Gail Mckinney ‘26
Brooke Slingluff ‘23
Malika Staton ‘26
Violet Villoch ‘26
Dorothy Woods ‘26
