Live music (Home Run Edition)

Chapter 1: The Broken Heart Brigade

All across the United States, something exciting is happening. Teenagers are picking up guitars and pounding away on drum sets. These young musicians are creating the music of tomorrow.

A great example of this is The Broken Heart Brigade. They are a band from Diamond, Ohio. This small town is about 50 miles away from Cleveland. The band is together almost every day. They play music, work on new songs, and try to improve their skills. Like thousands of other bands, they want to make it in the music business.

On this chilly fall afternoon, the band is getting ready to rehearse. Brandi adjusts the high hats on her drum set. Meanwhile, Ozzie and Zach tune their guitars. Isaac is also busy. He carefully ties a bandana around his head. He often wears one when the band practices, and sometimes when they perform.

As they start playing, Ozzie steps up to the mic. His powerful voice is sharp and clear. It’s obvious that he has been influenced by many other bands. One of these bands is My Chemical Romance. Most of their fans love their classic song “Welcome to the Black Parade.” When their fans hear the first line, they recognize the unique voice of Gerard Way.

Being compared to someone as talented as Gerard Way makes Ozzie proud. After all, he’s a huge fan of My Chemical Romance. If they heard Ozzie sing, they would probably become fans of his as well.

Ozzie

18-year-old Ozzie Thomas is a normal teenager with many interests. He goes to church, and loves Star Wars and Tim Burton movies. When it comes to music, he listens to many different bands. There’s much more to Ozzie, though. He also sings and plays guitar for The Broken Heart Brigade.

Before music came into Ozzie’s life, it was all about sports. He has played basketball and baseball for as long as he can remember. He would still be pitching today if he hadn’t suffered a shoulder injury. After his baseball injury, he focused more on basketball.

At six-foot-two, Ozzie is the starting center of the Southeast High Pirates. Of course, his schedule is busier than most athletes. He goes to basketball practice, lifts weights, and plays league games. He also spends just as much time practicing with his band.

According to Ozzie, his music career started when he was 14 years old. His dad decided to take the family shopping—at Guitar Center. When Mr. Thomas was a kid, he and his brother had played music together. Now it was Ozzie’s turn to play with his younger brother, Isaac. By the time the family returned home, Ozzie had a beautiful new guitar. And he’s been playing it ever since.

The Broken Heart Brigade begins practice by playing some covers. A “cover” is when a band performs a song that was recorded by a different musician. An hour later, they’re still at it. Band practice is completely different from sports practice. Here, there is no coach yelling out instructions. The mood is very relaxed—even goofy at times.

At the moment, Ozzie, Brandi, and Isaac are laughing loudly. Zach is describing every gory detail of the hernia surgery he recently had. He reaches into his guitar case for a large brown envelope: “Check out these pics my surgeon gave me after the operation.”

“No thanks,” Isaac says, pretending to be disgusted. “Dude, nobody else would carry around pictures of the blood and guts inside his body!”

Zach grins and walks over to Brandi, photos in hand. She’s trying not to crack up with laughter. She holds up her hand like a police officer stopping traffic. “Don’t even THINK about it, Zach.”
All four of them are laughing, but what Isaac said is true. What’s also true is that Zach is a unique teenager. He’s interested in things that many of his friends wouldn’t even understand.

Zach

In addition to music, 18-year-old Zach Kuntz has always had many other hobbies. He has enjoyed riding four-wheelers and being on the wrestling team. He has also run track and taken piano. Another one of his interests is the human body.

“I’ve always been fascinated by how the body works,” Zach explains. “It’s cool how we can help it heal from wounds or diseases. We now have the opportunity to live longer and better than ever before.”
Bones, muscles, joints, organs—these are just some of the basics of the human body. It’s important to learn about these things. For example, some college students are studying to become doctors. Understanding the human body will make them better doctors in the future.

Obviously, Zach isn’t grossed out by the blood and guts inside his body. He even asked the doctor to take pictures during his hernia surgery! Zach appreciates these types of things. One day he may become a doctor or do medical research. These are good career choices. Sure, they’re not as exciting as being a rock star. But they help make the world a better place.

After the laughter over the photos dies down, things begin to get serious. The band decides to work on a new song Ozzie has written. As the chorus kicks in, Brandi leads the way with her powerful drumming. People always say how cool it is that she’s the only girl in a band with three other guys. It’s never been a big deal to her, though.

“I have a brother who is seven years older than me. I also have a bunch of cousins who are boys, so I’m used to it,” she explains.
Isaac nods his head in agreement. He adds, “We’re always messing around and picking on each other. Brandi’s just like one of the guys. If any of us messes with her, she always dishes it right back.”

Brandi

“That was the night I fell in love with music.”
Brandi Walden is talking about the first concert she ever attended. She was just ten years old. Her family took her to see the bands Poison and Cinderella. Both of these bands were popular in the 1980s and ‘90s.

Brandi will never forget that show. When Poison did their famous song “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” the crowd went wild. The drummers had a huge impact on Brandi. She wanted to be like them—up there on the stage, drumsticks in hand.

After that concert, Brandi began playing percussion in band class. At the time, she was in the fifth grade. She played the snare drum, bells, and other percussion instruments.

Things really started happening by the time Brandi was in the eighth grade. It was 2005, and 14-year-old Brandi was beginning to show some real skill on the drums. When Christmas rolled around, she received her very own drum kit. “It was the happiest day of my life,” she recalls.

A deep love of music runs in Brandi’s family. Her father, Jack Walden, is the manager of The Broken Heart Brigade. Her uncle, Nik, is a great musician. In fact, the first time Brandi ever played live was with her uncle.

Brandi, only 15 years old at the time, was very nervous. They were at a cool little club called David B’s. It was packed with people. Brandi tried to appear calm. Inside, though, she was scared.
Brandi and her uncle’s band performed Led Zeppelin’s classic song “Rock and Roll.” Brandi did an excellent job and the crowd cheered loudly. This amazing experience helped motivate her to become a great drummer.

As the band practices Ozzie’s song, Isaac feels that something is missing. All of a sudden, an idea hits him. He looks over at his older brother. “Hey Ozzie, what if you replace the second line with the first line? And also change the words ‘hey girl’ to ‘see the world’. I’ll bet that will make the chorus flow better.”

Right away, Ozzie and Zach understand what he’s talking about. “Yeah, Isaac, good call. C’mon, let’s try it.”

After only one take with the new lyrics, everyone is telling Isaac that he’s a genius! Just like that, the chorus sounds more natural. And it makes the song much better. No one else in the band could have figured that out. They don’t look at things the way Isaac does. Actually, very few people look at things the way he does.

Isaac

Isaac Thomas has always had a creative mind. The other members of The Broken Heart Brigade think he writes great lyrics. This is a skill that has always come easily to him. Growing up, his big brother Ozzie would usually be playing the guitar. Meanwhile, Isaac would be in his room, writing or reading.

15-year-old Isaac is very popular and has lots of friends. However, he doesn’t always follow the crowd. Instead, Isaac chooses to be himself—even in situations where other people might judge him.

A perfect example of this is the Silver Ring Thing. This is a program that Isaac participates in. It helps teenagers to remain sexually abstinent until marriage. Being sexually “abstinent” means not having sex. Many people would laugh at this, but not Isaac. He is a good role model for other teenagers.

Isaac’s brave choice is shared by another group of musicians. They are much different from the pop punk and emo hardcore styles he loves. Still, Isaac admits he has respect for the Jonas Brothers. They are famous for their “purity rings.” Like Isaac, they have remained true to what they believe. This isn’t always easy.

They’ve been the butt of jokes on the Internet and on TV.
Isaac knows that many important people in history have been laughed at. He also knows that it didn’t stop them. Both the Jonas Brothers and Isaac Thomas should be applauded. They have the courage to stand up for what they believe.

Four hours later, The Broken Heart Brigade finally stops practicing. By now they’re wiped out. They all feel satisfied after a very good afternoon. They had planned to rehearse for an hour or two. Once they started, they just didn’t want to stop playing. This happens to them a lot. It’s because they love playing together.

For The Broken Heart Brigade—and bands all around the world—it’s all about the music.

WHOSE fans?? Not clear if it’s My Chemical Romance’s fans, or Broken Heart Brigade’s fans.

Huh? I think when you shortened these sentences something got lost. Pls relate Zach to this paragraph, or it seems out of left field

Pls make sure it says “and” in long version. I see that it says “N.” Either is fine, just make sure consistent.

WHAT happened to them?? It says they wanted to play for a couple hours, & they played for 4 hours. So they did what they said…