April 17, 2008

When Colleen asked me to guest blog for her this week, I was really surprised.  You won’t find my name on any bookshelves, and my personal blog has been collecting dust for quite a while.  However, books—the Harry Potter series to be specific–currently rule my life.

My name is Stephanie Anderson and I play in a Wizard Rock band.  Tonks & the Aurors has been going strong for 8 months now, and it’s been the greatest experience of my life.

I’ll be honest, I’ve written this blog like…. 3 times, and there’s so much I could cover, so instead of making this a blog of EPIC proportions, I’ll do this the easiest way I know how. 

Here’s a countdown of things you should know about Wizard Rock and/or things I’m asked most often.

1. The History If you want a way more thorough history, check out www.wizrocklopedia.com, but the first Wizard Rock band, Harry and the Potters, was created in 2002 by two brothers in Massachusetts.  In 2006 the genre exploded, and since the release of Deathly Hallows in 2007, the genre grew from 150 to 450 bands.

2. Literacy
Wizard Rockers aren’t making music to make millions of dollars or get signed to a major label.  Our number one goal is to keep kids reading and encourage literacy.  We play in libraries and bookstores and spout off slogans like “Fight Evil! Read Books!”

3. There’s an Audience for This Stuff?
Yes! And they’re incredible!  Harry Potter fans are crazy dedicated, and with fan fiction, discussion forums, fan art, and conferences already being embraced, Wizard Rock was screaming to be done.  There’s nothing cooler than performing for a sea of people in house colors, or spending time after shows discussing what house you’re in or your theory on Horcruxes.

4. Do-It-Yourself
Every Wizard Rock band is DIY.  There are no big budgets from record companies or fancy recording studios. What makes Wizard Rock such a brilliant movement is that as a musician I’m not stressing about whether what I’m doing is new, different, or marketable.  I’m making music that I want to make, not what the music industry is telling me to make.

5. Charity!
Charity is HUGE for us.  There are charity compilations constantly being organized and as a genre we are very socially aware.  Recently, JK Rowling even recognized the wizard rock based organization The Harry Potter Alliance as one of her favorite fan sites because of their mission to change the world and promote social justice.  We truly believe that “The weapon we have is love”

6. Where to Start
Once I tell people that there are now over 400 Wizard Rock bands, it’s hard to know where to start, so here are some of my recommendations on good albums to start with: Harry & the Potters’ “Harry and the Potters and the Power of Love”, The Whomping Willows “III”, The Remus Lupins’ “I was a Teenage Werewolf”, or Draco & the Malfoys “Party Like You’re Evil!”

7. Deathly Hallows = Death to Wizard Rock?
Many people were worried that with the release of the seventh book this would all die out, but clearly, that didn’t happen since the entire genre only grew with the book release!  There are HP conferences booked into 2011, and more and more conferences are embracing wizard rock. I will continue with Wizard Rock as long as it is still fun for me and as long as there’s still an audience.  I know most of the other bands feel the same way too, so we’re not going anywhere any time soon.

So, that’s your crash course in Wizard Rock!  If you want to check out my band, head over to The Tonks & the Aurors MySpace page. 

Also, if you’re looking for some cool events that are Wizard Rock based, there’s Wrockstock in St. Louis and the HP conference TERMINUS is hosting a 30 Band concert in August at the Chicago Hilton. 

The Wizard Rockumentary is also starting a national screening schedule, so if you can, you should go to one! Check their site for the screening schedule.

Oh, and Wizard Rock has opened the doors for even more bands about books and other fandoms like Star Wars, The Princess Diaries, and Twilight. 

Somebody needs to jump on a Gardella Band!

April 4, 2008

I graduated high school in 1985, so I grew up in the thick of those heart-swelling, tear-jerking power ballads.

And being a hormonal teen-ager, they did their job, let me tell you. Could be why I grew up to write romantic novels, huh?

Anyway, thought I'd post a couple of my favorites from that time. Hope brings back some memories on this (dreary in Michigan) Friday.

What did you rollerskate to with glitter balls and disco lights? 

(Steve Perry just looks soooo uncomfortable in those friggin’ tight jeans. Sheesh.)

March 31, 2008

Just wanted to point out a few updates to the site and blog.

First, please note to the right, there, in the middle column of the blog, a handy-dandy link where you can add your email address to get A-U-T-O-matic updates sent to you every time I post here on For All the World To See. Pretty handy, huh?

Never miss another fascinating, scintillating, witty blog post again!

Second, for those of you champing at the bit…we now have an excerpt and sneak peek up on the site for When Twilight Burns…just click on "Books" above and you'll find that gorgeous book cover linking to its very own book page. Try not to drool on the keyboard, gals.

Aw, hell…you can just click here and I'll take you directly to the page. Sheesh.

Thirdly…well, there is no thirdly. I lied.

In other news, we've recovered from our trip to the museum on Thursday. Thank you for all of your condolences, and Cheryl, I'm glad it was us not you! Can't believe you were down there too!

Speaking of Prince (yes, yes, I was…did you catch it?)…what do you think of The Artist Formerly Known As? Favorite track? Album? Did you like Purple Rain (the movie)?

Favorite track: Kiss

Album: 1999

Movie: At the time, yes. Haven't seen it since, though.

How about an '80s earworm to start the week? 

March 11, 2008

Twenty-five years in the biz. Twenty-five years, and she's still hot as hell. Gotta love it!

I must confess…back in the '80s when both Madonna and Cyndi Lauper had their first singles on the charts, I was having a conversation with my current Music Man (meaning, my Music Man at that time, not the one I'm married to) (did I ever mention that I have a thing for bass-players? No? Hmm.)

Anyway…conversation. In the '80s. With my Music-Man-at-the-Time. He (who, by the way, was just as much of a music snob as my current MM) was spouting the opinion that of the two trendy, chart-topping women–Madonna and Cyndi–that Cyndi would be the one to make it and not Madonna.

*snort*

(Okay, I admit. I agreed. But I was blinded by love.)

And…might I also mention that Queen Madge is a Michigan girl as well? Hmm? Did I mention that?

Rock on Michigan girls!

Here's a pic, and I'm posting it for three reasons:

1. Madonna, age 50, looks better than Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne. Holy crap, does she look good!

2. Justin Timberlake looks pretty hot too, for him.

3. Who on earth is that guy next to her? Seriously. I have no idea who he is and why he's messing up my pic, but….ugh. Can someone clue me in? 

On that note….what's your favorite Madonna song?

Mine are: "Express Yourself" and "Open Your Heart."

March 11, 2008

My daughter, age 11, is all over '80s music nowadays, which, as a child of that decade, I wholly support. 

The only problem is: apparently, her friends' parents have better taste in music than her own parents, including one of whom is a Music Man.

She's become attached to Bon Jovi, Madonna, and Billy Joel, and not that there's anything wrong with them (definitely not), she doesn't want to hear my (or Music Man's) suggestions for other '80s music she might like. (As it happens, neither Bon Jovi nor Joel are our particular favorites.) (Although I do like Madonna's older stuff.)

I made her a CD with some of what I consider classic '80s that leans away from the hair and hard rock bands and more toward alternative…with tracks from Berlin, U2 (the whole Joshua Tree album), Tom Petty, The Babys,  John Mellencamp (when he was still Cougar), Duran Duran, Sinead O'Connor, and others that I can't remember right now….

She wouldn't even listen to The Joshua Tree. I mean, is she really my daughter???

She did like "The Ocean" and "Dy'er Mak'er" by the Zep (probably 'cause they're not '80s), but that's only because some rapper did a rappish version of "The Ocean" and she recognized the song. She was okay with Petty. I also tried to get her to listen to Yes's brilliant 90125, but no go.

But…no U2? Sheesh.

I've come to the conclusion that she's in her hard rock phase, and I hope that soon she'll be emerging and expanding her horizons. I love hard rock too, don't get me wrong…but there's other good '80s stuff out there as well.

My poor Music Man, whom I've mentioned is a bit of a Music Snob, is practically verklempt (or he would be if we were Jewish) at her music choices…which also include Britney Spears and Beyonce. Ugh. Here's hoping something pops soon.

Any suggestions for other '80s music she might like? I guess there's the Boss and Seger, if she's into rock. 

Anyway, the reason I mention all of this is because one of her favorite songs is "We Didn't Start the Fire"–which was what got her started in this retro-music phase, and I just got a link to the video someone made to illustrate the song.

Considering the fact that I knew the song from way back, but didn't understand/get all the references, I found this video to be wonderfully enlightening–in many ways. So enjoy. And share with your '80s-music fans.