“The first time was a little nerve-racking,” says senior Kean Grych, president of the Singer-Songwriters’ Guild.
Marc Stafford, the club’s adviser, says the goal of the Singer-Songwriters’ Guild is to connect musicians and singers to help expand their opportunities beyond what school has to offer them.
“The club gives kids that are interested in music and are taking music classes at school an opportunity to explore their own interests,” Stafford says.
Grych recollects his first time playing a show, expressing the daunting fear he had coming upon him.
“I had done drama before, but I had never played an instrument in front of people, so that was a little stressful,” Grych explains, “but once I got into it, I loved it.”
Freshman Pascale Montgomery.
Junior Joe Johnsson agrees with Grych.
“The first couple of shows you ever play are more like tests of your own mental capacity,” Johnsson says. “But once you get up on stage and play, you feel great. The crowd is super forgiving, so you can play whatever, and it sounds great to everybody.”
Over time, the skill level of students in the club increases.
“I see an immense growth in the students,” Stafford says. “Sometimes we’ll see kids as freshmen who are pretty weak performers or don’t have it together, but by the time they’re seniors they’re playing in coffee shops in Monterey and people are coming to see them, or they’re already putting bands together. Seeing that growth and that progression is really cool. It keeps us all motivated.”
The Singer-Songwriters’ Guild is also an outlet that encourages students to connect and expand their creative musical activities outside of the club.
By forming connections within the club, Grych was able to create a band with four other club members.
“Last year we had a show where they let us perform in the performing arts center, instead of the cafeteria, where we usually do it, so we had the opportunity to go electric,” Grych says. “That caused me to get together with a group of friends, and we decided to get a set together for the electric show, and from there we just kind of kept playing together.”
The club meets every other Thursday in Room 25. Their upcoming shows will be on Nov. 10 and Dec. 9.
-Carter Whitaker
