Playing a multitude of songs to entertain students and to give them a chance to destress, Rock Band played for an audience for the first time all year during all three lunches on April 8.
Band director Adam Tucker said he was “excited” about the band’s first performance of the year. While there were other opportunities for performance throughout the year, this was the first opportunity where Tucker felt it was safe for all students.
Rock Band started three years ago, after Tucker took the jazz bands to Kutztown University for a day of rock and jazz. The band started off as a club for the first year and was then approved as a class.
Some students had heard from the band before. “During the first semester, we opened the doors up while we were playing and people would crowd around listening to us,” junior Daniel Micsion said.
The students played a variety of songs including “American Idiot” by Greenday, “Soul Shine” by The Allman Brothers, “Teen Spirit” by Nirvana and many more.
Sophomore Marvin Melendez and freshman Clinton Radcliff both agree that “American Idiot” and the higher energy songs were the ones that the students interacted with the most.
According to Tucker, Rock Band is very different from many of the other band programs in the school. The band does not require the members to be able to read music like any of the other musical arts programs.
Rock Band members each have a component that makes it special for them.
For sophomore Malcolm Raley, the best part is being with the people and meeting students that he would not have met outside of the class.
Sophomore Sean Manalansan enjoys the opportunity to perform and show the students what the band is able to do.
Students have been offered several opportunities to learn more about themselves and how to work in a group while being in the musical arts program.
The rock band program has taught Manalansan to realize where his place is. “Sometimes you play out more or other times you hold it back, and that’s definitely something I worked on a lot,” Manalansan said.
Teamwork is what brings the band together and junior Alanna Hilton is proud of how far the rock band has come.
“If we didn’t have all of these different instruments and everyone with these different skills, we wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are,” Hilton said.
The band is hoping to play more often during lunches and, down the road, plans to perform a concert at Souderton Park.