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CommunityFor one night, a chance to be loud in the library
Kids rock at Teen Night concert
Friday, March 7, 2008
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photos by DARWIN WEIGEL
Calvert County heavy metal band Fall Away performs Friday, Feb. 29, at the Calvert Library Prince Frederick at Teen Night.
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Librarians usually try to maintain peace and quiet among the shelves.
But on Feb. 29, the norm was changed. Calvert Library Prince Frederick hosted its second annual teen music night.
Thought up by the special events team, this event was held last year, to great success, during the grand opening of the library in January 2007.
‘‘The first year was such a huge success that we thought we would do it again,” said Robyn Truslow of Prince Frederick, who is the public relations coordinator.
‘‘Last year we had close to 140 teens attend and this year we have three bands,” said Lisa Slayton of St. Leonard, assistant branch manager for the Calvert Library Southern Branch. ‘‘It’s a night for the kids to come out and listen to the local bands.”
The kids that attended were there for a great night of music and hanging out with their friends.
‘‘I’m friends with a lot of the band members,” Caitlin Seldan, 13, of Chesapeake Beach said. ‘‘I love the kind of music they perform. I love rock and they are all really talented.”
Nick Garrett from The Garrett Music Academy was one of the sponsors of the night. As a music teacher he knows the kind of music the kids like and is encouraged by the amount of responses he received.
‘‘The main goal is to reach out to students who aren’t currently involved in music,” said Garrett of Prince Frederick. ‘‘This year we are giving away an electric guitar and a clarinet. The kids get to have a good time and its low stress.”
The three bands that performed were Fall Away, Aftershock and Graceful Downfall. It was Graceful Downfall’s first performance in front of a live audience.
‘‘I’ve been playing drums for about three years,” said Caleb Stevens, 16, of Owings. ‘‘We play metal and are doing covers of three songs tonight.”
Caleb is the drummer for Graceful Downfall. The other two bands were accustomed to performing in front of people.
‘‘The drummer of our band asked if I wanted to be the singer of their new band and I said sure,” said Kevin Cambell of Chesapeake Beach. ‘‘I would like performing to be my fulltime job. Every night that we play in front of our hometown I’m excited.”
Cambell is the lead singer of Fall Away. Fall Away also has a following and is comprised of mostly adults, while the other two bands were comprised of teenagers.
‘‘I was inspired by Rage Against the Machine to put a band together and the first time we practiced, I knew that was it,” said Sonny Murphy, 15, of North Beach. ‘‘We are doing a few covers and originals tonight. My inspiration is Jimi Hendrix.”
The bands covered songs from popular alternative rock groups, their own songs and some various others.
The kids were in a safer environment than they would have been, had they attended a real concert, Garrett said.
‘‘We like doing this [the event] at the library because it’s much safer, there isn’t as much liability,” Garrett said.
The staff at the Calvert Library plans to make this an annual event.
