7:40pm Monday 15th March 2010
After the shock of finding out that I had supposedly won a band to come play at our School, I was excited to find out that it was my favourite band, Elliot Minor, which I have been a fan for nearly 3 years.
Restricted from information from the school, the day came with great contempt, excitement rising until the afternoon when the band arrived in the school car park. Students were standing in groups, pointing and shouting from the roadside, realising who it was. A group of girls were also huddled outside the main reception, waiting to catch a glimpse of the schools new guests.
Escorted out to meet them by the head teachers PA, it still didn’t sink in till I saw them unloading their gear out of the car. Greeting the band on their first arrival, still scared and nervous made me realise I was probably the luckiest Elliot Minor fan at that point in time. Considering Ed H (bassist) couldn’t make the show, it still felt great being able to hang out with the guys. The guys had to sign in at the office, and the PA lead us into the meeting room, were she offered them coffee and we began to ‘chill’ with the band before the stage was set up for them to play. I was shocked when Ed and Dan said they recognised me, Dan then realising his brother (Ed H) is my bass teacher. The school set the stage up shortly, with the guys lugging their equipment down the corridors into the school hall. I’d never thought I would be able to see what exactly goes into setting up a show, the time and effort put in, the continuous sound checking just to make everything right! The students flocked into the hall as the hall soon became more crowded, followed by an introduction by the band and they began to play. The first song, Solaris, from the bands second album and used on the BBC Winter Olympics this year. I’d never heard it acoustic before, but it sounded brilliant! They then went onto playing some of their older tracks, such as; Parallel Worlds, Still Figuring it Out and Jessica. It was amazing being so close to a band I had admired for so long, knowing that they were only playing because of me. The band finished the set, with Dan congratulating me on my prize and the deputy head took over after I was hushed out of the hall to collect the band. It was then when I realised the photographer wanted to do a shoot with me and the band, so I was instructed in how to sit properly in the right position with the band round me for the photograph. Soon, the school photographers and my dad started taking photos aswel, making me feel like I was at a real photo shoot!
The band then made their way back to the meeting room, were me and my friends set up a short interview for them which I was to upload onto our local newspaper website. It was so much fun and gave me a real insight of how challenging and yet nerve racking it is to interview a band you are a fan of, but had to be done professionally. After a lot of questions, based on the bands interests, progress and music the band packed up their stuff after a few quick photos with us individually. We helped them carry their equipment back out to the car, were a group of students were waiting for photographs with them. Behind the crowds of the students, I thanked the band once more for making my day an amazing experience.
It was a day that will stay with me long after I’ve left the school and will be something I will always remember. I’m so chuffed that I managed to win the prize, as it was such an amazing opportunity and want to thank the Electrical Safety Council at www.twothirtyvolts.org for making the day happen and run smoothly!
By Chloe Spears, Longfield School.
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