Currently Listening : Hawthorne Heights - Speeding Up The Octaves
In 9th grade I was pretty lost when it came to music. I liked all of maybe 20 bands; and I didn't just like them, I loved them. The favorites then are the favorites now. I learned about bands the old fashioned way...word of mouth. A kid I was very fond of told me about one specific band once. I looked them up, enjoyed them, and they rapidly became one of those favorites. I saw them quiet a few times, bought their cd's, dvd's, merch, etc. I really did love them
By the time my 10th grade year was half way over, they'd gotten quite a bit of attention and blew up a little. They were still the same guys from the the beginning and I still enjoyed them very much. Then, with the release of their sophomore disc...things changed. They were not the same guys on the outside, but I knew they were on the inside. They weren't the goofy, down for anything guys they had been just a year before. Something was wrong.
The summer 0f 2006 saw the decline of my interest for this band. Solely, for how much they let their label influence them. I hated how they were being treated and how I knew they hated it as well yet could not do a thing about any of it. By Fall of that same year they were touring again, and I would be in attendance accordingly. I had to hide that I still enjoyed the old band I once knew. They changed the type of music I had listened to. That post-punk pop type of sound. Heavier guitars and screaming and just a different sound than that of all the pop-punk bands I had been listening to before them. Liking them was not something accepted in the scene. They were "sellouts" in the public eye. But to the old fans, they were so much more than what everyone else saw and knew. We knew they were the same band from 2004. They had never changed, they had just let the suits control them. That Fall, things changed.
Finally, they broke away from all of that. They went back to their T-Shirts and jeans, and left the outfits and suits. They made me so proud. They went through so much drama and torment and bashing, yet they fought it all of. They lost most of their old fan base, but they kept on trudging forward. Making music, touring, and being who they were. This was their life's work. This was what they wanted to bring to people. This was who they were. This was Hawthorne Heights.
A few hours ago I came home to look on Absolute Punk to read the most tragic news I have in a while. Casey Calvert, the screaming drive of Hawthorne passed away today. This hit me like a ton of bricks. Not only was he one of the most adorable people ever, he was the fun and energy that helped give this band their sound. I thought he was an amazing person. To find out someone I looked up to has passed makes me stop and think it could happen to anyone. There is nothing that can stop this. It hurts so much but it also let's you see how much you were touched and affected by one person. I can only hope to be like that to others.
Last fall, when they headlined the Nintendo Fusion Tour, I went and enjoyed myself and knew all I wanted that night was to meet Casey. After the show he walked right past me with Eron. He stared at me and I knew I should go up and just ask for a picture. I didn't. And now, now that it's way too late, I'm kicking myself over it.
Maybe he was healthy and pain free, but now he's in an even better place. Heck, he's probably chillin' with Beatz up there having a good 'ol time. That's all we can hope for.
RIP CASEY CALVERT ~ 1981- 2007
