Our Youth

     Thursday night I was sitting in Appleton North High School's auditorium waiting for the " Phantom  of the Opera" to start, when it dawned on me that I was forgetting the most important part of supporting live bands. Our children. If it wasn't for music and band classes in our schools we wouldn't have the music we have today.
     For those kids who enjoy music in grade school, they go on to join choir and band in middle school. Then for those who really enjoy it, they can go on in high school to join other music groups like orchestra, jazz band and jazz choir and musicals just to name a few. Some of these students want even more experience and take individual lessons and pick up other instruments that aren't offered in school.. Then some of these kids find others who enjoy the same kind of music and start a garage band. Case-in- point, Adam and Nick Liske in last weeks blog.
     This has been going on for decades. In the mid-sixties, hundreds of garage bands popped up all over the country. These bands were a raw, simpler form of their inspirations band. Being young they were amateurish, but that is what made them unique and exciting. Most of these bands were only popular locally or regionally and only a few went on nationally.
     One of these garage bands was the "Kingsmen".  The most popular song of these five guys from Portland, Oregon was "Louie Louie". This song was considered to be the "party anthem of the universe". VH-1 thought it to be the 11th best rock and roll song ever recorded. What an honor considering it was banned from most radio stations when it first came out. The lyrics were considered lewd and inappropriate.
     These garage bands lead the way to punk rock and other forms of music. Our new generation of bands will put a spin on the music of today to make what is popular in music tomorrow. The cycle keeps going.
     We can help encourage these new budding musicians by going to listen to them from the beginning. Go to the school concerts, both band and choir. Go to these garage bands performances. They might surprise you. You can also help out by donating money or time, if you can teach, to the kids who can't afford private lessons. This is one of the most important way we can support live music in our community.