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by Jackie Klapak STEPPING UP TO THE PLATE!
Salutations, all! It is with pleasure that I am writing this column for you. My name is Jackie Klapak, and I’m sixteen years old. You’re probably wondering how I came to be the new Teen Scene columnist. Well, Sarah Lounges and I are very good friends — we go to school together and have been a big part of each other’s lives — and when she decided to move on and pursue her goals in life, I was given the opportunity to step up. Her act is surely going to be a tough one to follow! It’s actually quite interesting that I myself am writing for Midwest Beat –– as I have always been such a big fan of the magazine. I started diligently reading this music magazine when I was in seventh grade. Sarah’s column was always my favorite, and I always thought, “Wow. Sarah Lounges is so important. I wonder what it’s like to be her? She must be so stuck up because she’s so good.” (Later, I was proven wrong about her being stuck-up.) The August after seventh grade, I attended a Beat Bash at the Lake County Fairgrounds. I remember seeing some guy with long, wavy black hair and a hat walk by with a crazy saying on the back of his t-shirt. Later in the evening, that guy with the long hair was giving away prizes to people who correctly answered questions. I heard him ask what the saying on the back of the t-shirts were. I, ecstatic that I actually remembered something border-line raunchy and fun like that, ran up to the stage to answer. He looked at me and said, “Well, do you know the answer? What’s on the back of the shirts?” I replied, ecstatically, “Rock me, roll me, yank me, spank me!” The guy moved his hands as if to motion me on, “But most of all…” he prompted. “There’s more?” I had asked, oblivious to the “catch part” of the phrase. “Yeah,” he answered. “But most of all….” He then gestured to the front of his shirt that said The Midwest BEAT, obviously. I, straight out of seventh grade in a Catholic grade school, wasn’t so keen on hints such as that, so I answered with the most logic I could muster up. “But most of all… read the magazine!” The guy with the long hair laughed. “No!” he said, in between chortles. I was utterly confused. What could it possibly be? Finally, my friend Theresa, who had run up there with me, piped up, “Umm… ‘beat me’?”
“Great job!” the long-haired guy said. He handed me an envelope with two tickets to the Region Rumble 2001 and a Nine-Inch Nails CD to Theresa. As we walked away, pondering over what the meaning of that final phrase was, Theresa said to me, “Too bad we made ourselves look like idiots in front of Tom Lounges.” “Wait, Theresa,” I started off slowly, “That was Tom Lounges?!?!? Oh, man!” I experienced that same wonderment on the third day of my freshman year of high school. I was sitting in sixth hour varsity choir class, and there was a girl next to me. I was not very talkative to anyone, since I was new, timid, and straight out of Our Lady Of Grace School. I heard the choir director call her “Sarah,” and then it all clicked. I ran up to her as if she were Madonna and I were the Paparazzi, and I exclaimed –– “Oh, my God!!! You must be SARAH LOUNGES!!! What’s it like? How does it feel to be famous?! I once got tickets from your dad at a concert!!! I can’t believe it!!!” After Sarah got over the initial shock of having a complete stranger bombard her in the face, we started talking and we haven’t stopped since! Sarah turned out to be really nice, down to earth, and not the least bit stuck up. Since then, it’s been history with us, and I know I would not have had the experience I’ve had in high school thus far had it not been for her strong and true friendship. She’s been with me through nearly everything… and that’s a lot! I only hope that I can do a good job of keeping the candle lit which she has so benevolently passed on to me. And now, about music… Music means the world to me. It has been a crucial part of my life since I started playing the trumpet in the third grade, and has only heightened since. I’ve grown musically over these past years and now I’m frequently in theatre productions, take private voice lessons, and do a whole slew of things (whenever the opportunities arise) to try to further spread the joy of music to the rest of the world. I am open to (and enjoy) just about any type of music. I used to listen strictly to Classical music, but after one hearing of The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” and E.L.O.’s “Do Ya,” that all changed, and gosh am I happy that it did! If there’s one piece of advice I can give anyone to start out with, it would be to step out of your comfort zone and try something new. Sometimes, people become so unnecessarily set back due to their own self-inflicted barricades. Do something different this month – it doesn’t even have to be drastic! I would like to focus especially on one particular CD each month of any musical genre and report back to you my observations and opinions of it. This month, I will be listening to The Kingston Trio’s compilation CD of two of their classic albums, At Large and Here We Go Again! Many people do not realize the many contributions which folk music has given to the modern music of today and how much it has influenced the sounds to which we young people are accustomed and enjoy, but this will be elaborated upon next month. Writing this column will prove to be quite a learning experience for me, as well. Embark upon the journey with me, and always feel free to give me suggestions! I hope that readers will take a liking to my new column. Don’t ever hesitate to email me to rant, rave, and express everything in-between at: jackie@midwestbeat.com Check back next month! Au revoir! | ||
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