articles
Holden Caulfield
from volume 02 issue 04 // MacKenzie Pause
Holden Caulfield
Words by MacKenzie Pause
Gainesville music has always been eclectic to me. It’s the kind of city that folk music and post punk can harmoniously live together. In the past many bands have caught my attention in the college town, but it wasn’t until one night at Common Grounds that Holden Caulfield showed the potential and future of the area’s music.
Known at the time as The Donder, Blair Westfall (guitar, vocals), Carson Ingley (drums) and Jonah Henderson (bass) took the stage with a slight awkwardness and nervousness that seemed appropriate for the teenage band. The three piece quickly proved themselves to everyone in the audience. Opening the show for locals (and relatives) Dear & Glorious Physician, the room filled with impressed attendees. As I looked around, I noticed smiles from corner to corner of the venue. Holden Caulfield caught the attention of the crowd by their young ages, but kept their interest through an impressive set reminiscent of The Pixies and 90s alternative rock.
Recently, I met up with the band at 1982 where I got some insight into their influences, being a young band in the Gainesville scene and growing up in a large musical family.
Westfall started playing guitar when he was nine, and now at the age of 13 he proves those years of practicing paid off. One of five children, he grew up in a home filled with music and instruments. His brothers and sisters played and formed Dear & Glorious Physician. While they have left their mark on the Florida music scene, Westfall follows closely behind with a natural guitar playing style, vocal melodies and stage presence.
Westfall said: “My dad can play a little of everything, drums, piano, guitar, bass. When I first started playing guitar, every once and awhile I would kind of jam with my sister who plays bass. Mostly, my Dad has been really supportive with the band and music. He’s the one who has really got me this far with guitar.”
Genetically the Dear & Glorious family passed on all the right DNA. Music may run through Westfall’s veins, but it’s the collaboration with Ingley and Henderson that creates the sound of Holden Caulfield.
Ingley and Westfall have played together for a few years, bringing their classic rock upbringing and influences to the table. However, it wasn’t until Henderson joined that the band started to find their niche.
“Jonah joined and we started to get more punk and rock,” Ingley said. “Then we decided to free form and got our new sound of indie alternative rock.”
The band previously played a battle of the bands and won second place, but once Henderson completed the lineup, the band battled another and won.
Battles and parties are probably the only way for some of the young fans to catch Holden Caulfield live. Fortunately the band has been offered shows at Common Grounds and 1982, but unfortunately a lot of their underage friends might have a hard time getting to the shows.
“Not a lot of kids we know have seen us,” Westfall said. “They’ll ask their moms if they can come and their like ‘I don’t want you going to a bar.’”
Age obstacles aside, they impress whoever is watching. While their youth catches your eyes, the music invades your ears, allowing their song writing skills to surpass any age preconceptions.
I wondered if I was overly impressed with two 8th graders and a 10th grader getting up on the stage of Common Grounds and wailing out guitar solos people my age couldn’t play with a tight rhythm section that seems to only come with experience. Could I have overestimated the talent of these three teens, my judgment blinded by their age?
The affirmation of my initial impression came as they took the stage of 1982. Four teenage girls giggled in anticipation, complete with self made t-shirts and cameras in hand. With professionalism some bands that have been playing for years lack, the boys nailed a set of songs that rocked from start to finish. Westfall’s guitar playing brought a permi-grin to my face, as well as others around me. As he wailed “Whoaoohwhoaooh” in a Frank Blackesque moment, I realized how much of the set I remembered from my first Holden Caulfield experience and just how hard it rocked.
These guys have got it. They already have groupies wearing their band’s shirts, and they are playing to crowds at bars they aren’t even old enough to drink in. Whether their fans have cokes or beers in their hands, the music is universal and rocks no matter what year you were born.
www.myspace.com/thedonder
Words by MacKenzie Pause
Gainesville music has always been eclectic to me. It’s the kind of city that folk music and post punk can harmoniously live together. In the past many bands have caught my attention in the college town, but it wasn’t until one night at Common Grounds that Holden Caulfield showed the potential and future of the area’s music.
Known at the time as The Donder, Blair Westfall (guitar, vocals), Carson Ingley (drums) and Jonah Henderson (bass) took the stage with a slight awkwardness and nervousness that seemed appropriate for the teenage band. The three piece quickly proved themselves to everyone in the audience. Opening the show for locals (and relatives) Dear & Glorious Physician, the room filled with impressed attendees. As I looked around, I noticed smiles from corner to corner of the venue. Holden Caulfield caught the attention of the crowd by their young ages, but kept their interest through an impressive set reminiscent of The Pixies and 90s alternative rock.
Recently, I met up with the band at 1982 where I got some insight into their influences, being a young band in the Gainesville scene and growing up in a large musical family.
Westfall started playing guitar when he was nine, and now at the age of 13 he proves those years of practicing paid off. One of five children, he grew up in a home filled with music and instruments. His brothers and sisters played and formed Dear & Glorious Physician. While they have left their mark on the Florida music scene, Westfall follows closely behind with a natural guitar playing style, vocal melodies and stage presence.
Westfall said: “My dad can play a little of everything, drums, piano, guitar, bass. When I first started playing guitar, every once and awhile I would kind of jam with my sister who plays bass. Mostly, my Dad has been really supportive with the band and music. He’s the one who has really got me this far with guitar.”
Genetically the Dear & Glorious family passed on all the right DNA. Music may run through Westfall’s veins, but it’s the collaboration with Ingley and Henderson that creates the sound of Holden Caulfield.
Ingley and Westfall have played together for a few years, bringing their classic rock upbringing and influences to the table. However, it wasn’t until Henderson joined that the band started to find their niche.
“Jonah joined and we started to get more punk and rock,” Ingley said. “Then we decided to free form and got our new sound of indie alternative rock.”
The band previously played a battle of the bands and won second place, but once Henderson completed the lineup, the band battled another and won.
Battles and parties are probably the only way for some of the young fans to catch Holden Caulfield live. Fortunately the band has been offered shows at Common Grounds and 1982, but unfortunately a lot of their underage friends might have a hard time getting to the shows.
“Not a lot of kids we know have seen us,” Westfall said. “They’ll ask their moms if they can come and their like ‘I don’t want you going to a bar.’”
Age obstacles aside, they impress whoever is watching. While their youth catches your eyes, the music invades your ears, allowing their song writing skills to surpass any age preconceptions.
I wondered if I was overly impressed with two 8th graders and a 10th grader getting up on the stage of Common Grounds and wailing out guitar solos people my age couldn’t play with a tight rhythm section that seems to only come with experience. Could I have overestimated the talent of these three teens, my judgment blinded by their age?
The affirmation of my initial impression came as they took the stage of 1982. Four teenage girls giggled in anticipation, complete with self made t-shirts and cameras in hand. With professionalism some bands that have been playing for years lack, the boys nailed a set of songs that rocked from start to finish. Westfall’s guitar playing brought a permi-grin to my face, as well as others around me. As he wailed “Whoaoohwhoaooh” in a Frank Blackesque moment, I realized how much of the set I remembered from my first Holden Caulfield experience and just how hard it rocked.
These guys have got it. They already have groupies wearing their band’s shirts, and they are playing to crowds at bars they aren’t even old enough to drink in. Whether their fans have cokes or beers in their hands, the music is universal and rocks no matter what year you were born.
www.myspace.com/thedonder
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