I was standing in the dim light of a garage surrounded with strangers that I have never seen in my entire life. They were screaming as loud as they possibly could that their shrieking easily and intensively vibrated throughout my body that night. The sensation of everyone’s voices scattering at an unbearably quick motion was making my ears ring. I was losing my concentration and it was getting really difficult to drink my beer as I stood and listened to the constant sound of voices rambling about gossip that I was not interested in. I glanced around my surrounding and I felt as if I was lost, wondering where the hell was I. I told myself, “Keep it together Peter, everything’s going to be fine like always.” I was at the point where it was getting difficult to concentrate on basic movements such as walking through crowds of limitless people, and started to wonder if I was ever going to enjoy the night with these insanely outgoing strangers in this vast shadowy backyard.
A Saturday Summer Night Show:
I slowly took swigs of my beer that was starting to taste like warm liquid vomit and then I decide to gulp the entire can. I then realized that there was a live performance of music being played by a local indie alternative rock band I really enjoy listening to. I immediately got this unbelievable rushing sensation of excitement that rejuvenated my mind, which made me go into a mosh pit of widely uncontrollable people. The strobe light was making it very difficult to mosh since it was flickering at the rate of my heartbeat, but the moment was unbelievably breathtaking. I never thought I would be such a reckless teenager having a great time with strangers, who enjoy the same interest as I, and all it took was one person to inspire me to know what it feels to be alive and to take a risk once in a while. I will never regret the moment of recognizing such a talented musician artist who is known as Julian Casablancas.
The Nostalgic and Joyless Memories:
From the time when I started middle school, when I was such a serious and focused student, I never really was interested in going out of my comfort zone and did not enjoy being around an atmosphere of lively people who enjoyed being reckless with their friends. I would hate being forced to go to a party, because I never enjoyed being there at all. I would literally just sit down on a plastic party chair and stare at everyone with a lifeless expression. Instead of going out to parties and being sociable, I would play many sports such as soccer and play many classical video games such as Super Smash Bros. I was the typical student who always did his assignments on time and never missed a day of school, but my social life changed in eighth grade once I was exposed to a band known as The Strokes. I used to say that I disliked music until I discovered this band, but as I progressed throughout my juvenile years, I understood I just disliked the genre of music I was exposed to as a child.
Listening to The Strokes for the first time made me judge my own personality and also helped me through many difficult obstacles that I went through. I was able to shape a new identity for myself ever since I encountered their music. Eventually I was able to create connections with people who had a similar interest in the music I listened to. At first, I would mostly make friends who were into heavy metal rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Metallica and etc. Being exposed to such people who later on became my friends was a new phase in my life that I had never experience. They helped me understand music by showing me variations of music artist and I eventually became interested in playing instruments such as the keyboard, guitar, bass and drums. Even though it was easy for other people to label me as a rocker since I started dressing in all black and had long straight black hair, I did not care because music had eventually become an extension of my life. I was able to understand how one attachment had created an endless journey of experiences that eventually helped me see through many perspectives and not just mine.
When I would be going through a phase of anger or depression, music was always there for me. The only problem I had with music when I would go through such a phase would be it would psychologically increase the emotion I was in. Instead of healing the pain I was in, music would just make it worse by changing my ideals. Even though something as wonderful as music exists, it can become a poison and in an instance change your rational choices. I slowly would make mindless decisions that eventually caused not only problems for me, but those around me who admired my personality. Eventually I endured too much psychological and physical pain that I was able to escape such miserable circumstances and find meaningful ideals through the pain I encountered.
Indie Subculture and The Strokes:
The Strokes are a well known Indie alternative rock band that emerged from New York in 1998. Indie music is difficult to explain since it consists of many genres and not just one. The misunderstanding about Indie music is that many people think it’s better than mainstream music and vice versa.I believe neither mainstream nor Indie music is better, but are capable of breaking social barriers between people. Indie music just exposes quality artists that eventually decide to become mainstream music artist. What I love about Indie music is that there are many genres of music, and many people can enjoy it because the creator of the music is seen as an artist and not an entertainer.
Background Information about their Lead Singer Julian:
Julian Casablanca’s inspiration to become a musician artist is difficult to pinpoint. He has said that Sam Cooke’s "A Change is Gonna Come" is his favorite song of all time. Lou Reed from the band known as The Velvet Underground, who has recently past away, was a major influence on his lyrics and singing style. Once he gained inspiration from talented musicians, he and his band The Strokes recorded a demo and sent it to the newly reformed Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom. There it sparked interest, leading them to make music that inspired many fans. The EP sparked a bidding war among record labels as the largest for a rock and roll band in years. Shortly after, The Strokes produced their first debut album “Is This It" and was released in October 2001. Throughout their progress of making music, Julian Casablancas announced that,"I’m trying to capture the catchiness of modern music but at the same time the power and seriousness of classical music and older music. In general, the goal is to inspire. I guess that's what art is supposed to do."
Even though I did not have much interest in mainstream music like the majority of teenagers, there was nothing better than listening to Julian Casablancas that kept me in a trance, which made me feel livelier than anything I experienced in the world. He helped me understand the uniqueness value of my life through his music. I was capable of expressing my interest to other people and learned to break boundaries between one another. The importance of being able to change the influence of someone’s perspective seemed impossible to me at first, but Julian Casablancas has influenced me to believe that communications with others is possible. Great musician artists such as him have created paths for people such as me to express ideals and continue to shape an identity to those who seek to understand themselves and others. They have created a newly diverse community where everyone can live for a while away from the real world and experience satisfaction once in a while.
I slowly took swigs of my beer that was starting to taste like warm liquid vomit and then I decide to gulp the entire can. I then realized that there was a live performance of music being played by a local indie alternative rock band I really enjoy listening to. I immediately got this unbelievable rushing sensation of excitement that rejuvenated my mind, which made me go into a mosh pit of widely uncontrollable people. The strobe light was making it very difficult to mosh since it was flickering at the rate of my heartbeat, but the moment was unbelievably breathtaking. I never thought I would be such a reckless teenager having a great time with strangers, who enjoy the same interest as I, and all it took was one person to inspire me to know what it feels to be alive and to take a risk once in a while. I will never regret the moment of recognizing such a talented musician artist who is known as Julian Casablancas.
The Nostalgic and Joyless Memories:
From the time when I started middle school, when I was such a serious and focused student, I never really was interested in going out of my comfort zone and did not enjoy being around an atmosphere of lively people who enjoyed being reckless with their friends. I would hate being forced to go to a party, because I never enjoyed being there at all. I would literally just sit down on a plastic party chair and stare at everyone with a lifeless expression. Instead of going out to parties and being sociable, I would play many sports such as soccer and play many classical video games such as Super Smash Bros. I was the typical student who always did his assignments on time and never missed a day of school, but my social life changed in eighth grade once I was exposed to a band known as The Strokes. I used to say that I disliked music until I discovered this band, but as I progressed throughout my juvenile years, I understood I just disliked the genre of music I was exposed to as a child.
Listening to The Strokes for the first time made me judge my own personality and also helped me through many difficult obstacles that I went through. I was able to shape a new identity for myself ever since I encountered their music. Eventually I was able to create connections with people who had a similar interest in the music I listened to. At first, I would mostly make friends who were into heavy metal rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Metallica and etc. Being exposed to such people who later on became my friends was a new phase in my life that I had never experience. They helped me understand music by showing me variations of music artist and I eventually became interested in playing instruments such as the keyboard, guitar, bass and drums. Even though it was easy for other people to label me as a rocker since I started dressing in all black and had long straight black hair, I did not care because music had eventually become an extension of my life. I was able to understand how one attachment had created an endless journey of experiences that eventually helped me see through many perspectives and not just mine.
When I would be going through a phase of anger or depression, music was always there for me. The only problem I had with music when I would go through such a phase would be it would psychologically increase the emotion I was in. Instead of healing the pain I was in, music would just make it worse by changing my ideals. Even though something as wonderful as music exists, it can become a poison and in an instance change your rational choices. I slowly would make mindless decisions that eventually caused not only problems for me, but those around me who admired my personality. Eventually I endured too much psychological and physical pain that I was able to escape such miserable circumstances and find meaningful ideals through the pain I encountered.
Indie Subculture and The Strokes:
The Strokes are a well known Indie alternative rock band that emerged from New York in 1998. Indie music is difficult to explain since it consists of many genres and not just one. The misunderstanding about Indie music is that many people think it’s better than mainstream music and vice versa.I believe neither mainstream nor Indie music is better, but are capable of breaking social barriers between people. Indie music just exposes quality artists that eventually decide to become mainstream music artist. What I love about Indie music is that there are many genres of music, and many people can enjoy it because the creator of the music is seen as an artist and not an entertainer.
Background Information about their Lead Singer Julian:
- Julian Casablancas was born in New York City.
- He is the lead vocalist of the rock band The Strokes and he is also known for his solo career during the band's hiatus relationship.
- ·His father is a Spanish American business mogul known as John Casablancas, who is the founder of Elite Model Management.
- His mother is Jeanette Christiansen, a Danish former model and onetime Miss Denmark in 1965.
- His parents divorced and his mother later married a painter known as Sam Adoquei.
- Sam helped shape Julian’s early musical taste by exposing him to music such as The Doors, which was different from the music that influenced him as a child to listen to music from the beginning.
- ·He married Juliet Joslin in 2005, who was the assistant manager of The Strokes at the time.
- ·In 2010 they had a son and named him Cal Casablancas.
- ·His father John Casablancas recently died of cancer in July 2013.
Julian Casablanca’s inspiration to become a musician artist is difficult to pinpoint. He has said that Sam Cooke’s "A Change is Gonna Come" is his favorite song of all time. Lou Reed from the band known as The Velvet Underground, who has recently past away, was a major influence on his lyrics and singing style. Once he gained inspiration from talented musicians, he and his band The Strokes recorded a demo and sent it to the newly reformed Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom. There it sparked interest, leading them to make music that inspired many fans. The EP sparked a bidding war among record labels as the largest for a rock and roll band in years. Shortly after, The Strokes produced their first debut album “Is This It" and was released in October 2001. Throughout their progress of making music, Julian Casablancas announced that,"I’m trying to capture the catchiness of modern music but at the same time the power and seriousness of classical music and older music. In general, the goal is to inspire. I guess that's what art is supposed to do."
Even though I did not have much interest in mainstream music like the majority of teenagers, there was nothing better than listening to Julian Casablancas that kept me in a trance, which made me feel livelier than anything I experienced in the world. He helped me understand the uniqueness value of my life through his music. I was capable of expressing my interest to other people and learned to break boundaries between one another. The importance of being able to change the influence of someone’s perspective seemed impossible to me at first, but Julian Casablancas has influenced me to believe that communications with others is possible. Great musician artists such as him have created paths for people such as me to express ideals and continue to shape an identity to those who seek to understand themselves and others. They have created a newly diverse community where everyone can live for a while away from the real world and experience satisfaction once in a while.
Pedro Jimenez is a first time Freshman attending California State University Northridge. He enjoys spending his weekends watching anime and playing soccer.