Features
High Life Wednesday, October 22, 2003
11
From middle to high, Approaching April stays on top
Local band remains
together after formation
in middle school and
flourishes out of love for
music and devotion from
fans everywhere.
By Emma Williams
Features Editor
“It started in jazz band, eighth
grade. We just started practicing
because we didn’t want to go to
the eighth grade dance,” said
junior Seth Barden.
That particular night spawned
the existence of Approaching
April, a band that, two years later,
still flourishes. The group
includes Seth Barden on bass,
junior Daniel Yount on drums,
and freshman Jackson Dulaney
on guitar.
“Jackson’s the nice guy,
Daniel’s the bad boy, and I relate
myself to Joey Fatone [of
N’Sync],” said Barden.
Best friends, the three boys
share their passions for making
and playing music together. They
meet to practice anywhere from
two to five times a week in
Daniel’s room to “jam.”
At first, as is the case with most
bands, making music was difficult,
but as time progressed and the
band members became more
familiar with and
attached to each other
the process became
easier, and the music
came more naturally.
“The more we play,
the more locked we
become to each
other’s styles. It keeps
progressing into what
we want it to be,”
said Jackson.
Now accustomed
to each other,
the process has
simplified.
“Gradually we are
all on the same
wavelengths,” said
Barden. “Sometimes
we start playing and it
happens, and then
sometimes I’ll be
playing at home and
come up with a rift,
and we’ll build
off that.”
Many eclectic artists influence
the funk/rock/jazz band.
The band accredits most of its
music making to the Allman
Brothers, The Grateful Dead, The
Derek Trucks Band, and Phish.
The music they are influenced by
the songs, beats, and styles that
make up their repertoire.
The band describes their style
as “friendly music that everyone
Junior Seth Barden, Daniel Yount, and Freshman Jackson Delaney often play
music to their hearts’ content at Yount’s abode. Approaching April’s
popularity can be witnessed in the extraordinary number of decals found on
cars throughout Greensboro.
'£71
is so versatile it includes The Spice
Girls and Will Smith. From these,
and from their own unique
creativity, they are able to invent
can listen to.”
“Heavy metal. There is only one
certain group that can listen to
that,” said Barden.
Approaching April shares their
music with their faithful fan base
at such locations as The
Somewhere Else Tavern,
Highpoint Billards, and quite
frequently at fans’ houses.
The boys, however, prefer
playing at fans’ homes. Yount likes
the someimes “frantic and chaotic”
atmosphere, while Dulaney enjoys
it when the excitement calms down
and “[relaxes].”
Not only does the band play
for their fans, whom they
appreciate immensely, but also for
the sake of each other and their
own individual passions for
the art.
“When I play I am mainly
playing for-myself and Jackson
and Daniel,” said Barden.
Each one loves what he does
to the point where making a life
out of music seems like the
only possibility.
“I would love to never do
another math problem again in my
life and just play music,”
said Yount.
Approaching April has come a
long way and does not quite know
when the end will be, but for now,
in the words of Jackson Dulaney,
“It’s just an experience.”
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