Brian McCoy and Schooley Station concert

I was sitting in my room one day last week listening to music. One of my favorite songs, "Black Balloon" by the Goo Goo Dolls was just about to go off when I heard a knock at my door. It had been cracked just in case my roommate, Dan-the-Man came home and because of that, the sound of my speakers was able to escape into the hall. I opened the door to see a tall, white male standing at my door with a guitar case strapped to his back. Hey, I heard you listening to the Goo Goo Dolls, the lead singer is my hero. Some folks say that I kind of sound like him. Can I come in and play a song for you? I didn't know who this guy was or why he wanted to play me a song, but I decided that any guy who is willing to come into the room of a Black man and play rock music, deserves a listening to. He introduced himself as Brian McCoy and said he was from Lancaster, OH. . He sat down on the couch and began to play. I had to admit that he did sound like the lead singer of the Goo Goo Dolls and his song had a great melody. After he was finished, he said that he had a demo CD and I was expecting him to try and sell it to me, but he shocked me by just giving it to me. I am going to be playing at Kafe Karouwac. I liked his music and so after I spoke to the other people who heard him play, I decided to get a group of people to go.

It was the night of the show and I had recruited my roommate to come along and see the show. The girls across the hall and next door to us were supposed to go, but only one out of the three, Ashley, could pull themselves away from their studying to do so. After getting dressed and meeting up with my friends Renee and Jill along with their friends, we all headed out to Kafe Karouwac. It wasn't far away from our dorm and the cover to get in was only $2. When we walked in, I saw Brian tinkering with his guitar. Jeff! What's up man? I'm glad you made it out! The guy had gone through almost all 12 floors of my dorms, I was surprised that he remembered my name. The kafe was not what I had expected. Instead of the dark, smoky television image I had in my head, Kafe Karouwac was bright and clean. There was one guy behind the counter making a few people some coffee and being there made me feel great about hating Starbucks. We all sat down and watched Brian help his buddies in the band Schooley Station get their equipment set up. I had the great idea of going home and getting my camera and so I did.

When I returned, it was almost time for Brian to start playing. More people had arrived, but I still had my seat close to the stage. Brian went up and played a lot of songs. His music is EMO if I ever heard it. I think he had one semi-positive song, but even that one was sad. Right up my ally as far as music goes. I think Brian is a great artist, the only thing I would want him to improve on is his pitch. Sometimes he is above or below the right notes. The strange thing was that it wasn't all the time, only on certain songs. For the most part, I did like his voice with its raspy tones. He also has some strong guitar playing skills. His songs put the audience in a mellow mood. There were some points where he wanted feedback from the audience or he would crack jokes and they would simply sit in silence. It wasn't because they weren't into his music, but simply the mood of it made them more relaxed. I, however, tried to answer the guy back. At one point I said that the song he was playing was my favorite on his demo. Thanks Steve...I mean Jeff. I was almost hurt, but not really. It was cool just being there. Brian finished up and Schooley Station was up next.

The group was going to leave after Brian. He was the one who came around to all of our rooms to play so we weren't really obligated to stay, but we decided to anyway to at least see what they sounded like. I, myself, will always give a group a chance because I am always open to like a new band. During the wait, Brian came over and we spoke for a moment. Turns out the guy is only 20 years old, one year more than me. He generally played down at Ohio University and his hometown on Lancaster. He said he rarely played up at The Ohio State University. I am glad he came down and hopefully he comes back. Also during the break, a woman in front of me said that she knew me. I don't know your name, but I know that you are friend with Ken. She was right, I was friends with Ken and I had seen her when I went to see RENT last year. Her name was Beth. She was supposed to go to Shadowbox Cabaret with her husband Jeff, but he was sick so I went in their stead. She said that her brother was the bass player in the band. Small world.

Schooley Station really surprised me. Their music was a lot more positive and warm. You know, the type of music that you listen to in the summer while driving you car with the windows down on the high. I found myself really enjoying their music and after one of their songs I yelled at them. Do you guys have a CD? No, but you can find three songs on our website. The more they played, the more I liked them and I found myself tapping my foot uncontrollably and bobbing my head. They saw me and after a few of their songs they would say, "That song is on the website" and I would cheer. They were a great group, but I needed to leave. On my way out Beth requested the pictures and videos that I took of her brother. I said I would give a CD to Ken with everything on it. I thanked Brian for a great show and he gave me his email address and said that we should hang the next time he came into town. I also got to meet a lot of people who lived on the floor below me. It had been a truly great night.