Music in the Air

Southern Cross University is FULL of musicians and bands. One of the positive aspects of living in Orion is that people are always playing music, whether it's an acoustic guitar or the whole band rehearsing in their rooms. I live downstairs from a band called Trace, who are absolutely incredible! The lead guitarist, James has become a good friend and will hang out and just play guitar for hours when I'm in the mood for it-which is always!! On Thursday night they played at the Uni Bar on lower campus, so Katie, Tyler and I went to support them. There were three bands that played and all had a very unique sound. Lots of bands here are into blues, and have a saxophone or other brass instrument in their musical mix. I'm usually not a fan of that type of music, but they put a youthful twist on it which is more fun to listen to. Trace is similar to one of my favorite bands, Coldplay, so I enjoyed their music the most. It was laid-back and easy to listen to while still have a conversation with people around you. It was fun seeing my Aussie friends on stage performing, just having a good time. I've noticed that people aren't as rushed or desperate to get famous here either. It seems like every hopeful musician in the States relocates to Nashville in hopes of becoming the next big thing. Here, people play to play, they do it for pure enjoyment and if they make money from it, it's just a perk. After they played, James and his band sat by us and answered any musical questions we had. I learned why they played three different guitars that looked identical on stage. He said they tune each one to what song they are playing to give it a unique sound-apparently that's what Coldplay does, and how they get a very unique sound. One of the bands was more heavy metal than I prefer, and Katie and Tyler looked pretty saturated with the noise as well. We walked back up the hill at night, which is always easier when the sun goes down for some reason. I think it's because we don't have to look up at how far we have yet to go. Still, it's not so bad anymore. 

It felt good to get out of my room and mingle with people who don't live in Orion. I can't wait to get back to Eau Claire and listen to the musical groups on campus!

Trace jammin' away

My roomie, Tiana :)

Katie and James!!