Axe to Grind

Posted on by Daniel Montoya Jr.

Written

2019

Duration

ca. 3:35

Grade Level

3

Price

full set $60; score $15

Contact for Pricing

Click to Buy

 

One of the things I really enjoy about live concerts is the energy of the crowd. At any rock concert or festival, you will see people dancing, smiling, screaming, and waving their hands in the air. The music moves them. They sing along to the lyrics. They stomp their feet and clap their hands. When you’re a part of that crowd, you see a side of people that is normally reserved for those closest to them. You see a part of their soul. When everyone’s guard is down, you don’t even have to try to connect with the people around you – the environment does it for you. As rock historian Robert Palmer observes in his book Rock & Roll: An Unruly History, “rock and roll listeners often seem to be behaving like entranced devotees, true believers.”

I’ve always imagined that one of the best feelings in the world for an artist is to hear an entire stadium singing back their song. But based on the concerts I’ve attended, I can attest to the fact that it’s also a pretty cool feeling to be in the audience while it’s happening.

“Concert” is probably the wrong term for a rock show because it implies a uni-directionality: the artist performs, the audience listens and watches. But in fact, a concert is an exchange more than a show. The event is a mutual co-creation between performers and fans. “My voice comes from the energy of the audience,” said Queen singer Freddie Mercury. “The better they are, the better I get.” The rapture is communicated both ways, which is why concerts are the areas for creating the incredibly strong bond between performer and fan that popular musicians are famous for.

Axe to Grind is a love letter to rock music and the rock concert experience. “Axe” is a nickname for a guitar and the phrase “grab your axe(s)” has been used by musicians and directors to mean, “pick up your instrument(s).” This piece is inspired by three different decades of rock music; the classic rock of the 1970’s (Led Zeppelin, Queen), the Glam metal of the 1980’s (Bon Jovi, Van Halen), and the hard rock/heavy metal of the 1990’s (Guns N’ Roses, Metallica). The work utilizes four iOS devices and the Garage Band app.

Thank you to James Mobley and the Brownstown Middle School Band with the participation of the members of the N-BEAM consortium. For those about to rock, we salute you!

T H E   C O N S O R T I U M

Commissioned by James Mobley and the Brownstown Middle School Band, with the participation of the following members of the N-BEAM consortium:

  • Brownstown Middle School, Brownstown, MI. James Mobley, Director. Consortium Lead School
  • Athens High School, The Plains, OH. Aaron Backes, Director
  • Bailey Middle School, Cornelius, NC. Ruth Petersen, Director
  • Blue Valley Middle School, Stilwell, KS. Ben Strain, Director
  • Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH. Dr. Kenneth Thompson, Director. Consortium Sponsor Partner
  • Boyd Arthurs Middle School, Trenton, MI. Peter Kopera, Director
  • Discovery Middle School, Canton, MI. Marc Whitlock, Director
  • Exeter-West Greenwich Jr/Sr High, West Greenwich, RI. Gregg Charest, Director
  • Indio High School, Indio, CA. John Freeman, Director
  • Liberty High School, Bedford, VA. Will Satterwhite, Director
  • Miamisburg Middle School, Miamisburg, OH. Ryan Wintersheimer, Director
  • Morris Community High School, Morris, IL. Brock Feece, Director
  • Northbrook Junior High School, Northbrook, IL. Greg Scapillato, Director
  • Patrick Henry Middle School, Woodhaven, MI. Bradley Faryniarz, Director. Consortium Charter Member
  • Patrick Marsh Middle School, Sun Prairie, WI. Chris Gleason, Director
  • Plymouth Christian Academy, Canton, MI. Michael Hejka, Director
  • Plymouth Community Band, Plymouth, MI. Carl Battishill, Director
  • Prairie Star Middle School, Leawood, KS. Paul Aubrey, Director
  • Renton Junior High School, New Boston, MI. Brenda Bressler, Director
  • San José State University, San José, CA. David Vickerman, Director
  • Saudi Aramco Expatriate Schools, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Brian White, Director
  • Shumate Middle School, Gibraltar, MI. David Brockington, Director.       Consortium Charter Member
  • Southgate Anderson High School, Southgate, MI. Brendan Walter, Director
  • St. Charles East High School, St. Charles, IL. Jim Kull, Director
  • St. Claire High School, St. Claire, MI. Micah Volz, Director
  • Stoney Creek High School, Rochester Hills, MI. Lauren Staniszewski, Director
  • Traughber Junior High School, Oswego, IL. Rachel Maxwell, Director
  • Troy Middle School, Plainfield, IL. William Goetz and Jennifer Carlton, Directors
  • University of Cincinnati Bearcat Bands, Cincinnati, OH. Christopher Nichter, Director
  • University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Armand Hall, Director
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI. Scott Teeple, Director
  • Van Wert High School, Van Wert, OH. Robert Sloan, Director
  • West High School, Columbus, OH. Scott Wedell, Director

The New Band Electro-Acoustic Music (N-BEAM) consortium was created in 2016, with the mission of fostering the creation and performance of new EA concert band literature for younger musicians. A trio of established composers – Benjamin Taylor, Daniel Montoya, Jr., and Alex Shapiro- were selected to bring their unique musical talents to this project. The N-BEAM consortium thanks the Bowling Green State University College of Musical Arts, Dr. Kenneth Thompson, Director, for its sponsorship support.