It’s no secret that Paschal’s student body is diverse and uniquely driven. Among the sea of athletes and academic successes are dedicated musicians, singers, and songwriters. 

Drumline and Jazz 2 student Thomas Rodriguez is one of the many students balancing school life and his musical ambitions as a young band member.

Thomas has taken a particular liking towards Grunge, Shoegaze, and Experimental Rock and features his drumming talent at venues, including the Grackle Art Gallery and house shows. 

“The rush of performing is awesome, and seeing people getting into the music makes me want to keep doing it.” 

Through his involvement with his band, Thomas has found music increasingly fulfilling and a pastime he is considering pursuing professionally.

“If being a musician is what you wanna do, keep doing it. There will be some struggle that comes with it, and you’re going to hit a couple of walls at some point. But if you’re determined, you’ll see a good outcome”.

Jazz 1 guitar player and baseball player Scott Whitten is a young performing artist who frequently plays in a band called Smoked Honey outside of school.

Scott’s band typically stays in the rock and country genre of music but accents the Jazz and Blues as well. 

One of Scott’s bands he takes inspiration from is the Allman Brothers Band and the Grateful Dead. “They’re more influential to me because of how they structure their music; it’s more than other music.”

Scott is the “Hippie” of his band and values freedom above most. Being confined in any aspect for him is a no, and he plays everything differently each time and loves originality in his sound. 

“When you’re frustrated and want to let it out when playing live, you can do that because nobody controls what you wanna do.”

Senior Dominic “Dom” Henson is well known at Paschal for his iconic long green hair and grunge outfits. Dom has a passion for music as a singer-songwriter. He has released several original pieces of music that he promotes to fellow students and teachers at school. In September, Dom sold his last album, Ramblings of an Unsound Mind, on CDs to students in his classes. He is finalizing his next project, Ice, which he says will come out on December 21st. 

Dom has been in twelve bands in a span of fifteen months. He has gotten a close look at what he calls the flaky nature of young musicians that he attributes to his band-hopping. 

“You find who you like working with and what sounds you like the most. Some people don’t mesh well, but it’s just a learning experience.”

He has performed with past bands at numerous venues over the past two years. Dom recalls a particularly memorable experience while “moshing” at Rail Club that ended in a severe concussion. 

“It was worth it in the end.” 

His punky lifestyle isn’t restricted to venue stages; Dom expresses his love for music with his daily attire. Dom wears a black jacket every day to school, which he calls a “battle vest” that was given to him during a Pantera tribute band performance. Dom decorated his vest with patches of his favorite artists like Ozzy Osbourne. 

Currently, Dom is not in a band but finds that working alone offers its own perks. “Being in a band is really fun to play with people, but playing alone gives you more freedom to experiment.”