rock isn't dead: Burger and fries delivers

​By: Ryan Fitzgerald

Burger and Fries perform at Fish Head Cantina & Rocking Sushi Bar in Halethorpe, MD

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​You know that coming-of-age movie cliché that involves a high school band rehearsing in one of the member’s garages for the upcoming talent show? Believe it or not, this scenario is very much real, and it’s happening right here at Glenelg.

​You may not be familiar with too many student bands, but they’re here, and they’re loud.
Senior Lily Girard is the lead “singer/screamer” in her metal band, tentatively called “Burger And Fries," that mostly plays covers of metal songs. I sat down with Lily and asked her about what it’s like being in a high school band.

RF: What do you get out of being in a band?
LG: I’ve met my best friends in the whole wide world! Through joining Soundcheck (a local music school that focuses on playing rock music), I met our two guitarists and we became fast friends. Then, of course, I met their friends and now we’re just one big gang.

RF: What kinds of shows does your band play?
LG: We perform in a lot of places, but most of them are local businesses with other people at Soundcheck. My favorite places are Little Market Café in Ellicott City and Fish Head Cantina ... which is like the weirdest place ever.

RF: What role does music have in the lives of younger people?
LG: I think music has made me discover that it’s okay to be loud. I think as a child I was definitely told to be seen and not heard, but yelling into a mic can be really therapeutic. Music is also a whole other language. Since learning how to speak it, I've made so many friends. When playing together and messing around with instruments, you learn a lot about each other by just letting your creativity flow. And there is nothing, and I mean nothing, like all your friends high-fiving you after you hit a note you were struggling with, or after your friend nails his solo, or when you finally learn how to get that good fry sound with your voice even if you’re not a tenor.

The next time you’re at a local restaurant that has live music, look out for Burger And Fries, as well as many other local high school bands that are keeping rock alive.