ISSUE 002
RAwmagazine.co
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facebook.com/rawmagonline
@raw.mag
@rawmagazine_
Contributing Team Members Editor-In-Chief Annie Jacobs
Publicist Flannery Cusick
Head of Writers Andrew Black
Writers Regan Bellantoni Andrew Black Isobel Riches Kendall Ries
Photographers Amanda Goon Chloe Hendrix Annie Jacobs Mae Krell Hanna Walters
Photo Editor Penelope Martinez
Head of Design Armando Rodriguez
Designers Clara Arcos Jack Hjerpe Rachel Sandene
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32 34 X AMBASSADORS Joshua Radin
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FACING ODDS & RISING ABOVE THE NEGATIVE
It all started with a younger (slightly less tattooed), Christofer Drew jamming with some friends. Now, nearly 8 years later, indie-rock band Never Shout Never has millions of fans all round the world and have just released their latest album, Recycled Youth, Volume 1. Their catchy sound is inspired by the 60s and 70s, as well as nature, and is a delightful tune many of us know and love.
Written by: Isobel Riches
Pictures by: Mae Krell
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Christofer Drew Ingle, the front man of the band, found his passion for music at a young age, which is what has brought him to where he is today. “When I was 13 or 14 I started playing guitar with some friends and there was something about it that was unlike anything I had done before; it felt like a release. I was a troubled kid and music felt like an escape from reality.” The internet played a big part in the discovery of Christofer’s music. Platforms such as MySpace enabled the world to hear him, where thousands listened to his work every day. However, the band’s journey to fame wasn’t necessarily an easy one. And like most bands and artists, they have faced many challenges in which they’ve had to overcome. “Finding balance of something you are happy with and something that will appeal to fan base is key. You have to create something that makes them happy but also something you are happy with.” Though this is one of the challenges they’ve had confrontation with, it is not a factor to keep them from doing what they love.
“If love was at the center of everybody’s chest, then the world would be a beautiful place”
nevershoutnever.com
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facebook.com/nevershoutnever
@nsnofficial
The fans are certainly something they consider a vital part of their success. The dedication of their huge fan base is something which humbles the band who told us that the “most important thing is having people that support you, otherwise it’s more difficult. We had to start from scratch all over again and we have been a band for almost 8 years now. We’ve been putting in the time and it has got us pretty cool fan base now. The dedication of our fans is unbelievable.” For their show in New York City, many of their fans had been waiting since earlier that morning in anticipation. As an artist, it’s necessary to be able to handle
it is to simply “shake it off like Taylor
it into somewhat constructive criticism;
negativity, as well. And as Christofer
Swift” (and he isn’t wrong!). The band
viewing it as “just another type of
joked with us, the best way to deal with
decides to use any negativity and turn
motivation to keep improving musically.”
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Christofer believes that love is the cure for all bad in the world. The band aims to spread the message of acceptance. Love is what makes the world turn and Never Shout Never feels we need more of it. “If love was at the center of everybody’s chest, then the world would be a beautiful place. It all starts with self-love; you have to love yourself unconditionally and only then you can love everybody else.” The band is not just passionate about their music, but about making the world around them a better place to be. “It takes all kinds of people, and so we need to be accepting of everyone because we need different kinds of people to make the world work harmoniously.”
The band was also excited to share details of their new album, Recycled Youth: Vol. 1, which was released on the 3rd of March. As the band has grown, their sound has as well. And although several tracks on the album are a collection of those released over the years, they are different in many ways. The band’s favorite tracks on the album include “On The Bright Side,” “Lost At Sea,” and “Robot.”
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It has been a long road for Never Shout Never to reach where they are today, and as most include, it is a journey with many ups and downs leading up to the present. As a word of encouragement for all aspiring to create their own musical path, Christofer urges hopefuls to “Practice every single day, stay confident, and be true to yourself. You have to make your own journey and make your own sound.� Self-belief may be hard for some to find, but it is a factor that Never Shout Never has considered to be one of the most important. Having just released their new album and performing shows across the states, the future is looking brighter than ever for Never Shout Never. We hope that the indie band from Missouri will continue to spread both the music and the love along the rest of their way.
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weaving hope for a people
Krochet Kids Intl. is a non-profit organization that has empowered over 185 women in Uganda and Peru. Founded several years ago, they became established as a non-profit organization in January 2008. The company believes in empowering women by giving them work experience, providing them with employment, educating them, and mentoring them.
Written by: Regan Bellantoni
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Pictures by: Annie Jacobs
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Krochet Kids began as a high school hobby for the three founders, Kohl, Travis, and Stewart. While traveling in college, the three friends discovered a desire to reach out and help others. One of the founders was talking to local women in Uganda when he realized that the people wanted a chance to find fair employment. They realized that they could use the simple skill of crochet to make a big impact. According to the company’s digital
media
manager,
Amanda
Reid, “Education became a natural component of the model because they first had to teach the women how to crochet. It then grew with the organization and the understanding that there are many factors that lead to poverty, one of which was a lack of education. It became an integral piece because the need was apparent.” By teaching women to “create products that give back”, paying them a fair wage to work, educating them, and mentoring them, they have been able to find success in the betterment of others. The education system has since expanded from basic job skills to include knowhow of things such as nutrition, investment,
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and
management.
Reid further went on to explain that the one of
woman who made it, so you can learn more about
hardest parts of their journey as a company has
her story on their website. From materials to post-
been that they are constantly learning new things
processing, Krochet Kids is committed to making
and fine tuning their methods. “Our founders and
sure every one who plays a part in the making
the rest of the staff have been learning, growing,
and distributing of a product is treated fairly.
and adapting since that first conversation had with the Ugandan locals years ago.” Each individual
Once a woman has reached certain markers in her
in the company is devoted to learning more about
education, work, and empowerment, the company
what they do and finding new ways to improve in
graduates her from their programs. The women go
their fields. “We want to continue to grow KK intl.
on to use the skills they have learned to support
and thus, grow our ability to empower and help.”
themselves in trades or other businesses. Krochet Kids intl. has reached out and empowered over
Since establishing themselves as a non-profit
185 women and their families, and they hope to
in 2008, Krochet Kids intl. has expanded from
go on to help as many people as possible. Every
Uganda to Peru. With women in both countries
individual involved in the programs and in the
learning and working in their program, they are
company is devoted to their work and learning.
able to fully oversee the making of each and every
The founders have truly found a way to use a high
product they sell. Each product is signed by the
school hobby as a way to reach out and help others.
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facebook.com/krochetkids
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@krochetkids
@krochetkids
krochetkids.com
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Written by: Regan Bellantoni Photos by: Annie Jacobs
Chicago-based singer/songwriter Andrew Belle released his debut album, All Those Pretty Lights, in 2008. Now, 7 years and 4 albums later, he is touring internationally. The 30-year-old Chicago native found his appreciation for music at a relatively young age. In the eighth grade, Andrew asked his dad to teach him how to play guitar. He played in bands throughout high school; however, it wasn’t until college that he began writing music. It was around this time that he began thinking of music as a potential career. “I kind of just sort of stumbled into it,” Belle said on his career in music. “It was actually sort of like an irony in my family that I became a musician. I wasn’t really musically inclined at all growing up. As a matter of fact, my sisters were the ones who took lessons and were singing all the time. I really never showed any interest in that until later in life.”
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Andrew has a passion for music and he uses it to
around with different phrases & lines. Eventually the
express himself in a deeply intimate way. From his
words start to flow, and out pours the meaning and
relationships to his faith, Belle’s songs are written
emotion he desires to inquire
from a personal standpoint. “I’ve always been really
within
proud of the fact that I’ve never released a song that
song.
each
didn’t have any meaning to me personally. Every single one of them I have an attachment to and I could
Our interview
talk about what it means to me.” His most recent
with him was
record, Black Bear, is different from anything he has
not
ever written. He explained that it has a lot to do
one of serious
with where he is in
matters.
life, and what he
relived one of his
is going through.
favorite memories
At the moment,
with
us.
things such as
asked
where
Belle
When he
rediscovering
would go on his last day on earth, he said he would
his faith and
spend the day with his wife on the shore of Carmel,
falling in love
California.
with his wife
got to go there a
come forth as
couple years ago,”
inspiration.
he said, “It was
“We
the closest thing Because his music is so personal, it is constantly
to heaven on
developing like we do as people. His taste in music is
earth I’ve ever
much the same. “It’s always evolving, and that’s probably
seen in my life.
an indicator as to why my music has changed so much
It was the most
over the years.” While discussing how he creates his
spectacular
music, Andrew explained how he writes the melodies
natural beauty
for each song first. Once he hears the music, he plays
I’ve ever seen.”
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simply
Using his experiences in an innovative way, Andrew Belle has a style that is uniquely his. The evolution of his music in accordance with where he is in life allows you to easily access the feelings and meaning behind
@andrewbelle
facebook.com/ Andrewbelle
andrewbelle.com
@andrewbelle
his music, which is his purpose for writing. “Because I write from a pretty personal standpoint, I’ve always gotten a lot of enjoyment from writing my music.�
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The Heartstrings of a Genuine Young Artist Written by: Andrew Black Photos by: Amanda Goon
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Can you pin down for us what it is about music that captures, inspires, and provokes you to create? Music really amazes me in its ability to capture very raw emotions and have them be completely understood by anyone who’s listening. Something so simple as a string of notes played in a seemingly random order can be universally understood, and that’s something that’s really quite incredible. A good song will often make you feel the very same emotions that its creator did when writing it, and make you relive experiences that you thought were unique to your past. That’s something that I really work for in my music -- to make people feel something. There’s something really relieving about transforming emotions into something more tangible that others can experience and relate to, and I think that’s part of the reason that creating music makes me so happy.
When did you first start creating? I’ve been playing instruments for a large portion of my life -- piano lessons since I was 5 or 6, and then voice lessons in 5th grade -- but music was never something I did for myself. It was always because somebody else thought it would be good for me. When I started writing songs in the 7th grade, I did it because I wanted to, and that made all the difference. I was able to experience music on another level, and that’s really when my passion for it began. So to answer your question, I’d say 7th grade was when I really began to create and experience music on a new level.
What genre would you consider your sound? This is always a hard question for me. I feel like my music, like the music of many other artists, is difficult to place in just one genre, but I get a lot of my influences from indie folk and alternative music.
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If you could play anywhere in the world, where would you play? Once place that I’ve always dreamed of performing is the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. I toured it a couple of years ago on a trip to the city and it was such a beautiful venue with incredible acoustics, not to mention all the big names that have performed there. It would be an amazing experience to be able to perform there. I also really love to travel, and I would love to someday get to explore lots of new countries while on tour.
Where do you see yourself five years from now? Five years from now, I definitely see myself in college, maybe studying psychology. I’ve been toying with the idea of studying abroad, maybe in Europe, but wherever I go I know that music will still be a huge part of my life. I’d very much like to pursue a career as a performing singer-songwriter because it really is my passion, but that’s kind of a scary thought for me because I know it’s such a risky industry. That’s something I need to figure out in the next couple of years, whether I’m really willing to go all-in with my music. But whether or not I pursue it as a career, I plan to continue creating and playing music for the rest of my life.
Is there any way you think your age impacts your musical career? Age has definitely played a big role. It can get pretty difficult to manage both my schoolwork and my music, especially when I have gigs or open mics on weekdays. Still, I think I’m really lucky to have discovered my passion so early in life because it means I have much more time to pursue it.
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What odds have you had to face thus far in your musical career? So far I’ve been pretty fortunate in my musical career (then again, I haven’t been doing it for very long yet), but I’ve definitely encountered situations where because of my age, people haven’t taken me seriously as an artist. Many times because I’m so young, people want to make all of the decisions for me. For example, earlier this year I had the amazing opportunity to record a few of my songs in a studio, but when it came to mixing the recordings, the person I was working with ended up taking the songs in a very different direction than what I had originally intended, to the point where they didn’t even feel like my songs anymore. However, I think it’s almost lucky that I’m having these experiences so early on, because as I grow older and the stakes become higher, I’ll already know how to prevent similar situations from occurring. What is your favorite song of yours and what does it mean to you? I’m a very indecisive person, so my answer to this question tends to change about once a week. Right now I would probably say “Craft Glue,” which is a song I wrote over the summer during a summer program at Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. One of my teachers there gave me some advice that I really took to heart and that I think this song captures quite well. She said to “sing the song that only you can sing”. This song isn’t terribly elaborate or complicated, but I think the guitar part and lyrics are really things that only I could have thought up, because they came out of very personal experiences and emotions. To me, this song is about having tried to “glue” a relationship (a particular friendship, in my case) back together over and over again and finally coming to terms with the fact that the pieces no longer fit.
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facebook.com/ellamcdmusic
@ellamphoto
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LIGHTS Photos by: Chloe Hendrix
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X Ambassadors Photos by: Chloe Hendrix
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Joshua
Radin Photos by: Annie Jacobs
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Liv ing t h e L ife of t he L o cal s Nearly five years ago, friends Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman were on a college trip in Costa Rica, where they became enraptured by the way of Pura Vida. The phrase “pura vida” translates to “pure life” in Spanish. To the locals of Costa Rica, it means living life to the fullest and not taking anything for granted. Not long after arriving, Thall and Goodman began to learn how to appreciate the pura vida lifestyle, which is something many of us may take for granted. We rarely stop to enjoy the tiny moments life has to offer, which over time, accumulate into a large quantity of our time in this life. “The Pura Vida lifestyle is embodied by the enjoyment of a life lived slowly,” according to the founders.
Written by: Kendall Ries
Pictures by: Hanna Walters
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While they were in Costa Rica, the two
Each and every bracelet that is bought
Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman have
came across a couple of street vendors
provides full-time jobs for local
not only expanded their business, but
selling
The
artisans in Costa Rica. The bracelets
their decision to immerse themselves
vendors lived in difficult conditions
have become in such high demand
into a foreign culture and live life in
and were trying to scrounge up some
that they are now sold in many gift
a new way has also given them the
extra money by selling these bracelets,
shops and surf shops all around the
opportunity to reach out to many
which they proclaimed was a part of
world! At this rate, Pura Vida will
organizations that they can donate
who they are. “We really wanted to
continue to reach new heights and
part of Pura Vida’s proceeds too.
make an impact on these two artisans
break through to their goals. “In
Seeming as how their lives were
that we met down there on our trip
five years, we see our team of eighty
changed by a few simple bracelets &
to Costa Rica. After seeing how they
artisans growing to a community of
a thread of hope, they believed in the
lived, we knew change was in order.”
hundreds of Costa Rican artisans
power of compassion to stretch past
The visitors asked the two locals if
with an opportunity they never saw
language and cultural barriers and
they would be willing to make 400
possible!” According to our inside
bring them to a place of common
bracelets that would be taken back to
sources, Pura Vida is in the midst
ground with local Costa Ricans.
America with them. “We were blown
of strumming up bigger and better
Living life in a way showing others
away and thought if one person
plans, which potentially include up to
that happiness can be achieved by
bought one, maybe more would be
five new collections and a very special
simple things is pura vida in its fullest.
interested.”
surprise in the near future!
Spreading joy and helping others by
handmade
bracelets.
any means, even by way of making of bracelets, is a simple happiness; this is pura vida.
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puravidabracelets.com @puravidabrac
facebook.com/puravidabracelets puravidabracelets.tumblr.com
@puravidabracelets
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ISSUE 002