By So Asiddao
Staff Writer
Freshman guitar player Alex Korn won the title of “Best Instrumental” at the talent show by pairing his playing with visuals in which he put his guitar up behind his head, got down on his knees and put his legs around the neck of the guitar.
Korn has been playing guitar since his elementary years when he joined a music program called “RockStar.” He had always wanted to try music from a young age and when he heard about the program, he thought he might enjoy it. When the talent show came around, he signed up, deciding it would be a fun opportunity to show off his skills.
“I had practiced some of the visuals before, but when I was performing, I just improvised most of it,” Korn said. “Some of the people that are influences for my guitar playing have done some visuals at some point, and I decided to copy them.”
In the show, Korn played a song called “Pride and Joy” by Stevie Ray Vaughn. According to Korn, he chose the song because he already knew how to play it and thought it would bring a more upbeat and fun element to his performance.
“It was really fun and exciting to watch and listen to Alex’s performance.” a friend who also participated in the talent show, freshman Jesse Eads, said. “It was very enlightening because the solo singers that performed before him were emotionally dramatic and his performance was upbeat. He just pulsed with energy. I’ve never seen anything like it from such a young player.”
Graduating from elementary school and moving onto middle school meant that Korn would no longer be able to be in RockStar as the program is only for elementary students. He then moved on to a program called “School of Rock West LA” in middle school.
“The program allowed me to perform all over LA with awesome musicians, so it made me even more passionate about music,” Korn said.
All of this led to Korn’s win at the talent show, which, according to Korn, he was proud and excited to receive. Senior Sam Jones was one of the talent show runners and judges who awarded Korn with his win.
“Alex had a lot of passion in his guitar playing that really made him stand out amongst the competition,” Jones said. “He had a flare and stage presence, and that’s why he won.”
As for the future, Korn hopes to play even more at gigs and public performances. He also plans to join the school’s jazz band and one day, form a band of his own.
“I plan to be in a successful band, a group led mostly by myself,” Korn said. “I don’t have any specific plans, but I know that’s what I really want to do.”
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