Prime

High school is the prime time, the prime time to begin establishing a foreground in music. Just look around. Most alternative bands, or bands in general for that matter,  have a background in experimenting with music, with connections, with people.

It's something I've considered. With friends as my foundation, they have supported and stabilized me in realizing and achieving my dreams. Reminding me: even if it the first attempt crumbles, when the drive for music is prominent there will be no question in picking up the pieces.

But where does the notion come from that to form connections in the music industry you have to be on the end of creating music?

Nowhere.

It’s the unstated assumption.

Although my music education can trace back to learning the piano at the age of 7, I only began because of the backbone of my mother. It was at 14 where I took the weight upon myself to enjoy the hours of practicing. It was not just a learning experience anymore, but a stress reliever and a growing passion.

I found the classical route was not the intended path on my part. After years of borrowing, learning, playing classical music, I bought a few sheets of popular pieces including Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Endless amounts of time spent sitting in front of ivory keys to play these familiar tunes.

To this day I still have a passion for piano; however, I teach myself. No teacher, but on my own time.

From day one, music had only been a hobby. I never considered a career from music. It is not practical, not in today's world. But only recently a new door had been open.

Audio engineering. Or Acoustical engineering call by its formal name. It's attaining the knowledge behind electrics and physics of sound—live or produced.

 
It's my time to learn now, while I'm in high school. It's time to search the surface of what my future may hold.

Light Never Dies

The world is in a balance—in both positive and negative ways. Yet, sometimes it does not seem as if. The negativity penetrates the happiness we try to fulfil in ourselves. At times, hardships seem impossible to overcome. Bleakness. Darkness. Blackness. It’s all consuming. Or that’s what we engrain in ourselves.

The difficultly of taking a step backwards to breathe from our situation increasingly grows with time. We are blindfolded. We cannot seek the help necessary. We lose rational frame of mind that it’s more than one of us in every situation.

Hope for the Day, a non-profit organization, was created to restore our faded hope, our wretched lives. A life ring is thrown out to sea. In over our heads, swallowing what we cannot digest, know we can be uplifted from the weight dragging us under.

More than one of us has felt this way. It’s in stories, narratives, lyrics, books, where we recognize we are not alone. Never alone.

Tribute

Mix classical string instruments with the metal genre of music. That’s Apocalyptica.

Composed of four classically trained musicians, the cello quartet borrows elements from a variety of genres. With their roots grounded in Finland, the band find inspiration in Middle Eastern, world, and folk music.

It was the sound that hooked and sunk in me. Unlike anything else I’ve stumbled crossed, literally. Hard driving tempos intensify the sound of strings and the percussive beat of the drums. The contrast is immense. One second you see hardcore rockers in “Bring them to Light”, the next is a stripped piece with the minimum of three cellos and a bass for “Beautiful.” And it is mesmerizing to sit and listen to the transformations of the symphonies. Vocals or not, the aggressive tone is evident as is the passion.

The four pieces do not work alone though. On their current album 7th Symphony, Apocalyptica collaborated with an abundance of other artist for vocals including Brent Smith from Shinedown, Johnny Andrews and Bush’s frontman Gavin Rossdale, Lacey Strum from Flyleaf, and Joe Duplantier of Gojira to name a few.

Ideas of artist who come together are the astounding proof of what collective minds can do, and I love that. It gives a new dynamic to the lyrics and sound. As someone who is open minded, I’m ok with change. Embrace it. Love it. If there’s something new and different, I’m bound to try it.

But the reason for starting Apocalyptica didn’t come from the want to sell four million plus records, the real reason was to pay tribute. Pay tribute to Metallica. In all honesty, that was the main reason for establishment in 1993. Three years later the first album, Plays Metallica by Four Cellos, was released.

From there it evolved. They didn’t care how many sold but with the increased praised and attention from their first album the second came out within the following year. And, too there were Metallica covers.

Its motivation, you see. Motivation can carry you, even if it’s a small interest at first. It grows. It evolves. It becomes what you want it to be.

The small seed holds the hope. But it needs to find set roots, needs to find water, needs to seek the sun’s warmth. From inspiration you will sprout the greenery. You’ve broken through the surface and by blooming you’re paying tribute to the necessities that provide the nurture for growth.