Week 12: Thank You For The Music

So I say thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing

Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing

Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty

What would life be?

Without a song or a dance, what are we?

So I say thank you for the music, for giving it to me – ABBA

Well, this is it. Not really, but I’ll elaborate on this later. 

First of all, a quick weekly recap. So much progress happened this week, whether due to a deadline or schedules finally aligning, I don’t know. I wanted a couple members of my Basis band to perform live at a coffee shop in downtown San Jose that hosts live music. Nirvana Soul has open mic nights every Friday, and since I was out in New York last Friday, May 17th was our only chance. 

Gauri was the only one available to perform live at Nirvana Soul, so I decided to accompany her on guitar. We worked out a set list of songs she suggested, which were easy enough for me to pick up on guitar. Our three chosen songs were Best Part by Daniel Caesar ft. H.E.R., Let The Light In by Lana Del Ray, and Linger by The Cranberries. We were only allowed to perform two songs, so we played through the first two. Hopefully, we’ll go back to another open mic night to finish up our set. 

Listening to everyone else at the open mic night was amazing, as it exposed me to San Jose’s music scene. It is definitely thriving, as the performance included rappers, a saxophone player, guitarists, pop music and even comedy singers. I know of loads more live music venues around the city and hope to visit them in due time. 

My personal addition to the live music scene

On Saturday, May 18th, Senior Project presentation day, I got my first band to perform live. With some coordination with the school, the band (who finally settled on the name Sweatshop Six) set up their instruments in the theater, and were ready with a set list. 

The performance went amazing, and they really got to experiment with the songs they played. The set list included Fly Me to the Moon, Isn’t She Lovely, Always, Best Part, Cherry Wine, Nothing, and This Love. Additionally, I sat in while they were rehearsing for their second set, and I’m still in awe of their musical process. The band is so “in sync”, for lack of better words. Their practice is efficient, but they still have time (and the talent) to mess around and try playing new songs. 

The videos are being posted to YouTube: www.youtube.com/@im_with_the_band_sj

So definitely go check those out.

I wanted to give some final thank you’s to all of the people who helped me immensely with this project. 

First, all of my musicians. Thank you so much for putting up with me and taking time out of your busy schedules to coordinate. 

I owe a large thank you to my faculty advisor Mr. Brady, without whom the idea of this project wouldn’t have left the ground. My original plan was to lock myself in my room for three months and bash out a senior project, but this idea forced me to go out and talk to people, which I am now so grateful for. 

I’d also like to thank my out of school advisor, Phil Johnson. He gave me so much advice that spanned loads of topics about the music industry. From warnings about working with musicians and suggestions of live venues to advice about my Instagram account and a full checklist of pre-release to-do’s, his help really pushed the project along. 

And last but definitely not least, I want to thank Mr. Perez for so kindly letting us use his recording studio. He and a friend at the studio did all of the mixing and mastering of the three songs. They additionally helped the band feel at ease throughout the recording process, which they truly appreciated. 

Now, going back to the beginning of this post, allow me to elaborate. While this project is over, there are some things I want to continue. Sweatshop Six has some more songs they want to get recorded so I’ll end up coordinating another date for the studio. I probably won’t keep the Instagram account as active, but stay tuned for new music over the summer! 

Until then, in the words of ABBA: thank you for the music, for giving it to me!