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“Take a sad song and make it better” – The Beatles, “Hey Jude”
On May 21 and 22, the Songwriters Club left the majority of the club in tears as it said an emotional goodbye to its 21 graduating seniors at the last showcase of the year. This was an original showcase where students created their own pieces. Genres ranged from acoustic, featuring solo guitarists, to jazz fusion with full-band performances. While there was a vast scope of genres in the 21-song set list, they had one thing in common: emotion.
“The emotion I was trying to convey with my song was a sense of acceptance among the ending of things, graduating to be specific … that’s where the main line ‘beginnings begin with end’ comes from. It may be sad graduating high school, but college is a new beginning I’m really looking forward to,” said committee member Arin Dean about her song “Lipstick off the Rim,” which closed the show.
Similarly, other students like Sandra Garcia and committee member Skyler Rosen also expressed their feelings toward the end of high school in their songs “Carry It with Me” and “Growing Pains.”
In her song, Rosen poses a lot of self-reflection: “staring back at the girl crying in the mirror, pretends to be someone she’s not, when she just wants enough … but getting older’s hard enough.”
Rosen explained that this lyric depicts feeling unsure of who you are and who you should be in the future, with wanting to be not only good enough for others but also yourself. She added that it also reflects the pressure of the teenage years.
Other songs were more on the reflective side, like Jace’s “Marinero,” Laila Denee’s acoustic “Happy Now,” Daniella Garcia’s “Flawed,” April Antonecchia’s “Tactical Ending,” Emma Dognin’s “Vintage Jeans,” Sabrina Bonelli’s “Late June,” and Saul Leon’s “WP State of Mind.”
“The goal for me in my ‘WP State of Mind’ song was to encapsulate the influence the little experiences and moments in my life have had on me, and how memorable simple experiences like a sports win or hanging out at a friend’s house can be,” junior Leon said about his rap song.
“My song is about the feeling of holding on to someone who was never fully there to begin with. It’s that mix of missing what you almost had and realizing it’s time to let go, even if you still feel like a part of them is there,” junior Bonelli said.
However, not all of the songs had such melancholic undertones. A theme in a lot of underclassmen’s songs seemed to be frustration. This was seen in Angela Bediako’s song “Fault Lines,” Out of Order’s “Summer’s Moving On,” Two Blondes and a Brunette’s “Victim Complex,” Esperanza Cylinch-Schneider’s “Can’t Say You’re Sorry,” Brian Guedes’ “Vandalize,” and Mila Tomlin’s “Since July.”
Junior Bediako had this to say about her song: “It’s about how one needs to balance taking responsibility and taking blame because, even though they sound the same, it’s two different things. Someone needs to be responsible for their own actions, but on the other hand, they also need to be able to recognize when they’re being blamed. So, in the end, it’s all about balance.”
“[My song is about] feeling like you’re stuck in a cycle with somebody who is constantly putting you down and making you feel small, but finally learning how to be free from them,” sophomore Tomlin said.
Other notable performances include sophomore Alexa Leclere’s “Dead Space,” an emo rock hit; Faade’s “Cinders/Ceniza,” with first-time original showcase performers seniors Annelyse (Fro) Javier, Aixah Flores and Daniella DiSavino and vocals which transfixed the audience like sirens; and sophomore Hayley Brick’s light show and commanding vocals in “Break All the Walls.”
Not all seniors in the show have been in the club their whole time in high school; in fact, many started just this year.
“I used to perform in a group in middle school, so I was pretty interested when I heard about Songwriters, especially if I got to choose the song to sing. I was particularly excited about the original showcase because I write lots of poems and letters, so it seemed right. I really admired everyone who went on stage and performed, so I thought I should just gather the courage to perform as well. Better late than never, which explains why I joined Songwriters in my senior year,” Javier said.
“After attending Songwriters performances all four years of high school, I have always left each performance feeling inspired. I finally built the courage to perform my senior year. While stepping out of my comfort zone was challenging, I didn’t want to graduate without having tried. Becoming a part of this community was an amazing experience; my only regret is not trying sooner,” Flores added.
Lucas Calhoun, a guitarist, also joined the club his senior year. “I only joined Songwriters my senior year because I wasn’t really confident in my guitar playing before that. I’ve been playing for about four years, but it wasn’t until this year that I really started to lock in. When I first joined and met Brian and Nick, I could tell right away that we all had the same passion for music, especially metal. We clicked instantly and became close friends. We united as a band,” he continued. “My favorite memory was our second cover show. That one really stuck with me. I still get chills thinking about it. The three of us picked songs that were honestly way out of our comfort zone. Even a week before the show, we were struggling to play them right. But somehow, we pulled it off and played one of our best sets. We were all super proud of what we’d done. It’s moments like that that made Songwriters such a meaningful part of my senior year.”
Some underclassmen used their songs to pay tribute to the seniors.
“The goal of my song was to give the seniors playing on it a true sendoff. I made the parts quite difficult; the song was nearly eight minutes and had a lot of solos and dramatic transitions. I really wanted to make it fun to play so that Elika and Frankie got a true sendoff that showcased their incredible talents on guitar and drums, respectively, and gave each of them a spotlight on their final song,” said junior Nick Bucaj about his jazz fusion song “Homunculus Funk.”
On the topic of her final performance, Elika Trueblood had this to say: “I felt this rush of adrenaline that I’ve never felt before. The crowd faded from my vision, and all I could focus on was the music I was playing and staying in sync with my bandmates. It was liberating.”
“Songwriters Club has been a staple in my life as a high schooler. Although it is a lot of practice and effort, I don’t regret the time I’ve put in on drums and on lights for the last three years. I will never forget the people I’ve met and the memories I’ve made,” said Frankie Flora, a senior and committee member.
“I’m glad I joined the club when I did, but I wish I joined it earlier; I still had a lot of fun while it lasted,” said drummer Amara Woods.
Despite the loss of many seniors, there’s a plethora of talented underclassmen who will keep the club well-nourished after the seniors depart to their new lives in college. Their talent will prove to show that one day someone will cry for them too when they play at their last showcase.
“The last showcase was absolutely incredible, and getting to see all of my friends perform, some of them for the last time, was so amazing and so emotional. Songwriters really is like one big family, and you can really see that by watching and participating in the showcases. I’m so lucky to be able to be part of such a great community,” sophomore Stella Khachetoorian said.
“I think next year will be a great year, like every year before it. We definitely have some work to do, but we’re gonna make it work; we always do,” junior and committee member Brian Guedes concluded.
