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Hello, and welcome to noise., Choate’s music magazine! This is one of the newer publications on campus, as it was formed in 2009 by Tatum Travers ’11 and Zoe Kauder-Nalebuff ’11. We know that, given our hectic schedules, it’s difficult for Choate students to find new music to listen to, so our aim is to provide you with some jumping-off points. We hope that you can take the time to stop and listen.

Greek Fire

Letter From the Editors:

Formed in 2008, Greek Fire is an alternative rock band from St. Louis, Missouri. Its members are Phil Sneed, Ryan Phillips, Johnny Venus, and Mark Joseph Roth, who are all members of the alternative bands Story of the Year and Maybe Today. The band first played together in May 2009, and they have set out to spread their music ever since. As of right now, they mainly play concerts and festivals, such as this summer’s Q101 Jamboree, out in the Midwest. In the spring of 2011, their single, Doesn’t Matter Anyway, received considerable airplay from radio stations in St. Louis and Chicago.

As can be gathered from the band’s short documentary on YouTube, Greek Fire’s ultimate goal is to play moving music for a rock-deprived generation. They’re getting very close to their goal through their use of poetic lyrics and powerful instrumentals. Although the band is described as alternative rock or post-hardcore with focus on progressive rock, some of their music is pop-oriented. Greek Fire released a three song EP in November 2010 and released their first album, Deus Ex Machina, on August 16, 2011. - Nicole Wallace ’14

FirstIssue

-Hayley Ricardo ’13, Grayson Warrick ’12

October 2011

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When one wields a Fender licensed Tele, Strat, Precision, or jazz bass, he probably doesn’t think of how the instrument was created. To deliver that organized heap of wood, plastic, and metal to a musician’s quivering hands and hungry fingers, Fender must first gather its ragtag team of guitar experts and brave the horrors of the Fender Factory in Corona, California. The first process involved in creating a Fender is inspecting, cutting, and sanding the wood. The wood is chosen for its texture: softer wood creates a fuller, warmer tone.

It’s precision-cut by machines, while the necks are carefully sawn and sanded by hand. Guitars made with exceptional quality wood are reserved for the Fender Custom Shop, which caters to the rich and famous. After shaping comes finishing. Modern guitars and basses are finished with thick coats of polyurethane or polyester, which are both rock-hard and keep the instrument looking new. Some musicians, however, prefer Fender’s classic ‘60s or pre-’60s lacquer finish, which wears with age. While all this cutting, sawing, and painting frenzies on, the folks in the metal shop work diligently to create the souls of Fender instruments: pickups, the block-like formations that are almost always directly under the strings of an electric guitar or bass. Two examples of pickups are the powerful humbucker, which gives off a bright and clean tone, and the single-coil pickup, which is

known for its tangy break-through sound. There are thousands of varieties to choose from, and each type is hand-coiled, wired, and soldered into the guitar bodies at the Fender Factory. After all that comes the assembly and playability test. Master luthiers inspect all parts of the guitar or bass for anomalies and set the action, the distance between strings and frets. The boys then have some short jam sessions to test out the finished instruments. If all is well and rocking, then the guitar or bass is ready for the final step of being packaged and shipped to your local music store. It’s a lot of work. Crafting guitars is an extensive process often filled with tiny errors, but you can feel safe with a brand as legendary as Fender. From the contouring of the body to the wiring of a pickup, you won’t be let down.

-Justin Chu ’13

A Day in the Life of a Fender

Breaking OutThe Weeknd is Abel Tesfaye, an Ethiopian-Canadian musician from Toronto. His debut mixtape, House of Balloons, was released this past March and is an R&B-electronic blend. The “hit” of the album, “What You Need,” features Tesfaye’s smooth voice cooing, “He’s what you want, I’m what you need,” similar to the voices of artists Frank Ocean or Drake.

The Weeknd

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The vocals may lack originality and always focus on sex or drugs, but the background music is hot: drugged-out melodies keep you relaxed with skipping beats and layers of shouts, claps, and rich electronic loops. The Weeknd released a second mixtape in August called Thursday, featuring the song “Rolling Stone,” which has the guitar melody repeating throughout the song overlaid with Tesfaye’s falsetto cries. The Weeknd’s songs are soothing for about a minute—until you find yourself bored and hitting ‘next.”The Wkend: ‘House of Balloons’: B-

Breaking Out, contd. p. 2

Manchester-based Wu Lyf (pronounced “Woo Life”), which stands for “World Unite Lucifer Youth Foundation,” is comprised of four self-titled “dumb kids” playing “heavy pop.” Their first debut album, Go Tell Fire on the Mountain, was released last June and includes the singles “Concrete Gold,” “Heavy Pop,” and “Dirt.” Wu Lyf have managed to create a mystery around themselves by denying interviews and not releasing much information to the press (except for nonsensical descriptions as posted on their carefully crafted webpage). Frontman Ellery Roberts shouts out in a most unique voice, which is high, rich, almost ear-popping—and almost even ugly—but at the same time completely gentle. The aggressive drumming, light guitar, and pipe organ create the sound of Wu Lyf, who celebrate togetherness, boyhood, and eye-opening adventure in this smashing new album. Wu Lyf: ‘Go Tell Fire on the Mountain’: A-

Wu Lyf

Intro: I sat down with Omega Dolla to discuss his favorite music, his influences, and the next time Choate will see him perform.

KO: Is Omega Dolla a physics reference?OD: Is Omega Dolla a physics reference? I’d have to say no. It’s kind of a coincidence. People ask me, ‘Where’d you get that Omega part from?’ You know, it just came to me. But honestly, going into the full elaboration is too much [because] I’m a pretty lazy person. There is a reason, but people find out eventually…

Omega Dolla- Katerina Gribkoff ’12

Playlist:(1) Weeknd, “Rolling

Stone” (Funkybeatz Remix)(2) Wu Lyf, “Concrete Gold”

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KO: Do you have a song, album, or person that inspired you to become an MC?OD: [sighs] This is so hard, because I actually got into music because of my brother. My brother sings, and he’s been doing that since he was my age. Right now, he [and] his best friend, his partner-in-crime, (his name is Myclassic, he’s a rapper) do this music thing. I think I heard Myclassic in 2006/2007, and he was just phenomenal. I kept listening to his music, and I ended up thinking, ‘I love music so much, and making my own, is that a dangerous thing to do?’ People might have different opinions, and I didn’t know if I could take the criticism. So, my freshman year I was working with Myclassic, and I was thinking, ‘I need to write down some of my feelings.’ I was very skeptical at first, but I ended up doing it. I showed it to Brian Sarfo [‘13], and he was feeling it, so I said, ‘Let me carry through with this thing.’KO: Looking at your Facebook page, I see Shep [Bryan ‘11] produces a lot of your music…OD: Yeah.KO: And who’s Hannibal King?OD: He’s a producer from Jamiaca, Queens, my hometown. He’s actually working with Odd Future creator Domo Genesis, and I used a lot of beats from his beat tape “Villains Gone Bad” parts I, II, and III. I really want to work with him some day. I know a guy who’s working with Hannibal King right now, and I’m very envious of him [laughs]. The thing about Hannibal is, his beats are kind of old-school. [He uses] a lot of samples from old-school songs, R&B songs from the 80’s and 90’s. And I got a feel from that. My only problem was if anyone would actually feel these songs. I know people like the new type of sounds, and I actually have an interest in that, too, but this [old school stuff] was the area where I felt like I actually fit in, and I felt like I could keep writing to [it]. Like six-foot-seven-foot. [It] had a pretty good beat and people liked that song, but to be honest, that wasn’t one of my favorites.

KO: Do you play any instruments?OD: I used to play guitar in middle-school, and as soon as I came here I just straight up stopped. Cuz' my guitar broke, and me, as a lazy person, I was too lazy to get a new one. I l e a r n e d a f e w chords, a few basic c h o r d s . I n e v e r learned scales. So I would play chord progressions.

KO: Will 800 “likes” on Facebook= a new mix-tape?OD: [Laughs] Maybe 1,000. I feel like people aren’t even listening to my music. They ask for more music, and I’m like, ‘Have you heard my old stuff?’ and they haven’t. I am working on a new project, though.

Omega Dolla contd. p. 3

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KO: Alright, I’m going to list off about a dozen artists, and you just give me a thumbs up or down if you like them.OD: [rocks back in chair, laughs] oh no!

Souls of Mischeif UPThe Beatles UP

D’Angelo UPRakim UP

A Tribe Called Quest UPAndrew Bird (hasn’t heard of him)

Bob Dylan UPNas BIG UP

Beck (hasn’t heard enough)Digable Planets (hasn’t heard of them)

Tyler the Creator UPMarvin Gaye UPDavid Bowie UP

Ju$tice (hasn’t heard of him)

KO: Will we see you perform at a school meeting again? OD: Probably. Actually, Julia [McCarthy ‘13] asked me to perform at today’s [October 5th’s] form meeting, like, the day before. But that would mean I’d have to do it a capella and on the spot. I’m afraid I would choke.KO: You don’t freestyle?OD: No [laughs].KO: Will we see you at Coffeehouse this year?OD: That’s very probable.

KO: What song is paused on your iPod right now?OD: Aww man. [laughs]KO: You could make it up if you want to.OD: No, no, I think i t was Mos Def ’s “Mathematics.” That was the song.KO: I was just listening to that! And I noticed that Mos Def was one of your facebook page’s likes.OD: Yeah, I really like Mos Def.

Dolla Adebayo (a.k.a. Omega Dolla) is a young, talented MC from Queens, NY. He’s also a fifth-form boarding student at Choate. Dolla has released the mix-tape “Villains,” produced by Hannibal King, and several singles, including “6ft 7ft,” which earned him short-lived popularity on campus. To support Omega Dolla, like him on Facebook and check out his music on soundcloud. - Kevin Oliveira ’13

Omega Dolla contd. p. 4

Pop-punk has hundreds of different subgenres, but the one that tons of people will probably never be exposed to is the “hardcore” pop-punk. The reason for this is because people are generally scared of "hardcore.” They take it to mean screamo music, scary guys, and heavy metal guitars, but it doesn’t mean that at all. Frankly, the lack of popularity of this genre is horribly disappointing to me, because these bands create some of the most meaningful songs I’ve ever heard. Plus, the guys in some of these bands are some of the coolest and chilliest guys I’ve ever hung out with. Most of this music scene comes from little towns across the East Coast and the Mid-West, so it has a sense of small town angst; the lyrics are littered with cries of help from kids trying to get out of their mundane lives. Yet, unlike so many teen angst songs, these aren’t a cry for, “Someone help me because I’m so helpless.” It’s more of an, “I’m gonna get out of here one day and show you all I’m better than this.” The songs are almost uplifting. Instead of throwing pity parties for themselves, they’re

The Lost Genre: Pop-Punk

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After coming back from what seemed like a permanent hiatus, Blink-182 h a s r e l e a s e d t h e i r n e w a l b u m , Neighborhoods, and it does not disappoint in the slightest. Each song on this album is catchy and sounds dist inct ly l ike traditional Blink-182. Unlike their earlier albums, ‘Enema of the State’ and ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’, the songs on this new album are definitely not what you would consider to be “pop-punk". Lacking in their comical lyrics, these songs have a similar tinge of teenage angst from the band’s self-titled album, released in 2003. The lyrics and the experimental sound the band came out with back then have clearly carried over onto Neighborhoods. Tom and Mark’s vocals are nothing but classic Blink-182, and yet their songs still don’t get old. This album is a perfect Choate fall album. It doesn’t have that upbeat, party sound that we expect from a summertime album, but, at the same time, it’s not the depressing sound that we all tend to favor throughout Choate winter. This is an album that is definitely a must-have. Best songs: “Ghosts On the Dance Floor”, “Natives”, “Wishing Well”, and “After Midnight”.

-Bailey Stankus ’12

anthems for kids who are feeling tired and worn down. Even if the lyrics do suck, there are tons of redeeming qualities in the music itself: guitar riffs and drum solos are evidence of kids who truly care about the music they’re playing. These songs are definitely not pregaming songs, SAC dance songs, or party songs, but they’re perfect for listening to while you’re on a long drive or sitting around just hanging out with friends. So many times people ignore the true musical talents that are out there and cling to substance-less pop songs. I’m not saying I don’t do that too, but I think people would benefit from a healthy dose of real music from real people every once in a while. Whether real music for you is Bon Iver and Manchester Orchestra or if you’re taking a turn for the alternative and going for bands like The Wonder Years and Defeater, it’s important that our generation keeps trying to embrace true musicians instead of throwing them by the wayside in order to replace them with Jason Derulo and Katy Perry. - Bailey Stankus ’12

Punk-Pop, contd. p. 5

Album Review: Blink 182’s Neighborhoods

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What do Elliott Smith and the Notorious BIG have in common? At the surface, it may seem like nothing; however, the fact that these two artists have released albums posthumously shows how they have both shaped aspects of American culture and achieved iconic status.

Elliott Smith, a druggie bum from Omaha, Nebraska, truly represented the emerging indie/folk scene in the United States during the ‘90s. While he started his career dabbling in the lo-fi folk scene,

Smith soon developed a style that trademarked the indie scene in the U.S. at the time. His raw and personal songwriting gives the listener a vivid idea of what Smith was going through; his music perfectly mirrors his life-long problems with depression, drugs, and alcohol. In October 2003, at the young age of 34, Smith was found stabbed dead in an apartment in California, most likely committing suicide a f t e r a fi g h t w i t h h i s girlfriend. His despairingly hopeless mood can be seen in his posthumous album New Moon, released in 2007. During 1994 and 1997, when most of the songs on the album were recorded, Elliott Smith was arguably at the peak of his career; at the same time, however, his personal life

was at an all-time low. This can be seen in lyrics like those of the song "Whatever (Folk Song in C)" in which Smith states, "If you're all done like you said you'd be/What are you doing hanging out with me?" New Moon captured the tone of the indie/folk scene of the ‘90s, and has influenced many indie/folk artists of today.

While Smith was a pioneer in the indie scene and truly an icon in his own respect, the Notorious B.I.G. was an icon for another emerging sect of pop music in the United States: “gangsta rap.” Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Biggie (formerly Christopher George Latore Wallace) lived a hard life surrounded by poverty and violence. In March 1997, after an extremely successful career, The Notorious BIG was shot in a drive-by shooting at the young age of 25. His album Life After Death, recorded earlier that year, was released a mere two weeks later and is one of the masterpieces created by Biggie during his lifetime. The album includes many rap classics such as "Thug Life" and "Going Back to Cali," as well as experimental pieces like the instrumental track "F*** You Tonight.”

Unlike Elliott Smith's New Moon, which is a more monolithic "stream of conscious" album, Biggie tries to incorporate a variety of styles in his album, which both created the standards for the majority of modern rap and portrayed the gangsta scene happening across the country in an honest manner. This honesty can be most easily seen in the song "What's Beef?" as Biggie rhymes, "Beef is when you roll no less than thirty deep/Beef is when I see you/Guaranteed to be in ICU/Check it." It is safe to say that Biggie's legend and message lived on after his death.

Both Smith and Biggie were true icons in their own respect and changed their particular slices of American culture in different ways, even from beyond the grave.

- Ginger Holmes ’13

Kings of the ‘90s: Elliott Smith and The Notorious B.I.G.

Design Editor: Katerina Gribkoff 12 Stay Tuned to Noise...