CAL EAR & FRIENDS: Issue #5

Beautiful, Isn’t It? - June ‘24-December ‘24

Table of Contents Introduction & Acknowledgements

3

Music

4

Art

16

Out & About

22

Noragami, 6/15 Fundraiser Show

hey!

The past few months have been stressful beyond words, but I’ve been able to see what truly makes me happy with more clarity than before.

Whether it be watching my friends play shows with their bands, writing my own music, photographing my surroundings, or compiling everything in this magazine, I’ve realized how good the world has been to me. I have a wonderful circle of people who care about me, my inspirations continue to push my creativity forward, and I’m improving in the skills and hobbies I adore. I can recognize the beauty in it all, even through the uncertainty and overwhelm. That’s beautiful on its own, isn’t it?

I learned a lot these last few months and I am so excited to show you all of my findings! Here’s to a bright future for CAL EAR & FRIENDS!

With love, Claire

PS: Special thanks to real awesomeness, my family, Tashvi, Hazen, the wonderful people at HDMF, and everyone who has supported this project so far. I would not be able to do this without you all!

u s i m c

!

really, super, awesome people

Featured: Atavan, Rec Affect, Noragami, Melodic Skullz

June 15, 2024 — A couple weeks after the 2023-24 school year ended, I found myself scrolling on Instagram when I saw some of my favorite bands post flyers for an upcoming fundraiser show they would be playing.

With the gig lineup consisting of Melodic Skullz, Rec Affect, Noragami, and Atavan, the proceeds from this show went towards a local family facing hardship.

When I arrived at the venue, smoke from a nearby wildfire filled the air, so everyone rushed up the venue’s stairs before we inhaled too much smoke. This didn’t hinder anything, fortunately.

I went to this show on my own, so I found myself awkwardly standing in the corner, fiddling with my dad’s camera. I’m not the greatest at starting up conversations with people, but Scarlett (Noragami) saw me and struck up a conversation, and I felt more at ease. Everyone I’ve met in SCV’s music scene is super nice and welcoming and it makes me grateful to be a part of it as both a fan and an artist!

Melodic Skullz was the first act on the setlist. I remember hearing a lot of Charli XCX’s Brat (an album that released just days prior) in his DJ set. With dozens of teenagers taking up the space in dance studio-turned music venue, I wandered the room, looking for people to photograph.

Rec Affect took the stage after. This three-piece alternative/punk rock band caught my attention immediately!

Their catchy guitar riffs, intricate bass lines, and their well-written, sometimes tongue-in cheek lyrics made me a fan as soon as they started playing. I haven’t been able to catch any of their gigs since then, but I’d love to watch them play again one day!

Noragami was the third act to play at this show. I watched them play for the first time at Tryx 2, and they were the

main reason I wanted to attend this show. They performed a bunch of their original songs and I loved them all. They have this sort of energy they bring to the shows they play at, and it’s something I love about them! Similar to Rec Affect, I haven’t been able to catch them at any of their recent shows, but I would highly recommend watching the band perform to anyone who enjoys screamo. Plus, they have really cool merch designs. I hope they release a project sometime soon!

Atavan closed the show. I’ve seen Atavan play at three different shows: Tryx, Tryx 2, and this show, and I thought all of their sets were super fun to watch! They are very energetic, LOUD, and the only band I’ve seen where the band members switch instruments after almost every song. I like their stage presence; they really know how to gain an audience’s attention. They released some demos back in August and I’m excited to see what else they do!

I haven’t been able to attend as many shows as I would have liked to this magazine cycle, but I think taking a break has only made me more excited about music! These bands and artists (as well as the ones I’ve seen and included in previous issues) have shown me what it’s like to be in a community of people with similar interests, but different backgrounds as well. I find myself cooped up in small circles, typically sticking to groups within my school or neighborhood, but spending time with new faces, and even just people I don’t get to hang out with on a regular basis, is a nice change of pace for me.

I tend to think about the person I was before I started finding local artists sometimes. While I was content with enjoying my music in solitude, I think I knew deep down that there was more to this little hobby. I didn’t know that there were so many people my age who found the same joy in the same music I liked until I found these people, and I don’t know how I would have turned out without them. I can’t help but admire how cool everyone is!

It seems almost silly that I thought I would only be able to find communities like these online, but I can’t verbally describe how happy I am to be wrong. Whether they know it or not, the people I’ve met here through music have helped me grow into someone I am proud to be.

I hope you enjoy the photos here!

i’m always turning to santa monica!

From “cloonstrumentals,” to “it’s the same thing every time,” this beach somehow always finds its way into my concepting. But WHY? As a young kid, I never would’ve same thing every time”—quite fitting songs as if they’re journal entries. I’ve expected that the beach would be one for the backstory now that I think about always taken a liking to works written of my biggest inspirations. it. as a stream of consciousness. I find myself feeding off of this kind of Growing up, my family and I didn’t go Spanning around thirty minutes, it’s momentum when I write, making me to the beach very often. Having two the same thing every time, or ITSTET “throw up” my thoughts and ideas onto small, whiny children, the LA traffic, for short, tackles a lot of what I was my Notes app, and somehow they work and my mother’s distaste for the sand feeling at the time. Boredom, out. I may be biased though. getting in everyone’s clothes (as well as retrospect, my nervousness towards my brother’s and my fear of sand crabs) growing up, ending friendships, being a At the time of me writing this, my didn’t pair well with Santa Monica teenager; essentially, this album was a favorite songs on the album are “check Beach. Eventually though, about years reflection of who I was while I was your email (again),” “sled augustus,” later, we started finding more writing and recording the album. and “in a dream.” I really like how these enjoyment in visiting the beach.

Beginning with a re-recorded version of songs sound and I wanted to “check your email,” a song originally experiment with these kind of When I was in ninth grade, I went with released on the things to do EP, I high-energy sounds in the EP that my family to the pier, where I took a wanted to prioritize having fun while succeeds this album (but more on that photo of the amusement park area.I’ve recording this project. I often find later). always loved the bright colors of the myself dragging my feet through parts ferris wheel, roller coaster, children’s of the recording process, creating songs rides, and the carnival games, and I that I’m less than proud of, but I didn’t was working on what would become go through that during the making of “cloonstrumentals,” so I wanted to see ITSTET. if I could draw on the photo to make something interesting. I ended up Making this album was a very freeing making something I thought looked process. I had so many built up cool, but I didn’t end up using it for the emotions, whether it be from ending a project because I thought I would come friendship with my best friend of five back to create a more polished, final years, my immense fear of becoming an version of the project (with lyrics). I did adult without making the most out of not do that, but now the artwork is in my childhood, or whatever else I was the first issue of this magazine, which I dealing with at the time, but this think is pretty neat. project helped me come to terms with, and work through, these “losses” so to The years went by, I walked back and speak. Though these issues seem forth on the Santa Monica boardwalk extremely trivial looking back at them more times than I remember, and now now, even just a few months later, I feel I’m in twelfth grade, senior year, on the a little more at peace. cusp of adulthood—whatever you want to call it. In the summer of 2024, my Though revisiting this project after its family went back to Santa Monica to release makes me feel a bit critical escape the sweltering heat in our town. towards the album, I think I notice I took a random photo of the shore, the improvements in my lyrics, which I am sand full of people, to post on proud of. I remember having a Instagram, but when I got home, I had conversation—albeit months after an idea. I felt like I could pay homage ITSTET’s release—with a friend (shout to the original concept behind the out to Mateo) about songwriting. “cloonstrumentals” album art with the Though I was being extremely photo, so I doodled on top of the photo. unhelpful at first, this conversation was I remember being kind of bored of the really the first time I thoroughly monotony that was the last few years, thought about HOW I write songs. I so I decided to name the album “it’s the told him that I tend to treat writing

go touch grass!

Morning walks and making art

Living in Southern California means that I have the privilege of experiencing the wonderful weather here, but I don’t think I’m taking advantage of it as often as I should.

I was never really obsessed with the outdoors. I’ve tried biking and going on hikes with my dad and brother when I was an elementary schooler, but I never had a particular interest in them (which sucks because I’ve been surrounded by a variety of hiking/bike trails throughout my life). This also applied to the sports I took interest in, having spent years training in karate and taekwondo—both of which are primarily indoor sports.

woohoo!

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6.

songwriting exercises (2:27) The walk to your house (2:28) lines to include somewhere (1:30) the knife (acoustic) (1:51) birthday cards 2:06) 6 months (3:39)

After my last taekwondo class in September, my mom suggested that I go on the occasional walk to avoid becoming too sedentary, which I thought would be a great opportunity to spend some time outdoors. I love walking around; it helps me clear my mind if I’m overwhelmed, it allows me to see all the cute dogs in the neighborhood, and I get to simply explore my local area. I thought it would be fun to bring my mom’s old camera with me on my walks to photograph things to draw on, and that led to me creating the artwork for “6 months” and the woohoo! EP. It took me longer than usual to design the artwork for this project. I knew I wanted it to be similar to it’s the same thing every time, but I didn’t want my artwork to look redundant. This EP and my last album are very similar in terms of the ideas I wrote about, but this project is more of me having fun and not focusing on carrying out a specific sound, so I wanted the cover art to reflect that. The title also reflects the thought process behind this EP. I struggled with coming up with a deep or meaningful name for the project, but eventually I thought woohoo! fit; it’s not too wordy, and it’s a positive exclamation, and many of these songs happen to be about letting go of negative experiences to become a more positive person. Here are some stories and explanations behind some of the songs! songwriting exercises — The title of this song is pretty self-explanatory. I came up with this song while waiting for my photos to upload from my SD card. I photographed a tennis match after school that day so I didn’t have time to play guitar earlier in the day. I didn’t have any specific ideas I wanted to write about, so I decided to create a song about songwriting, taking multiple ideas and combining them. I didn’t focus on making something particularly interesting, but I ended up with something I liked. Of the final tracklist, “songwriting exercises” was the third song I wrote and recorded for this project.

the walk to your house — A few days before the first week of school, my friends and I decided to plan a get-together after school registration. We knew we would see each other that day, so we thought it would be the perfect opportunity to spend time together before the start of our senior year. We dropped off our heavy textbooks at my house, and we spent a few hours going to different stores in our neighborhood. Eventually, one of my friends had to leave early, and he forgot to take his textbooks from my house, so another friend and I walked uphill in the 110-degree heat to his house to drop of his books. I must say, it was not a very pleasant experience, but it’s very funny to look back on. This was the first song I wrote for this project. lines to include somewhere — I don’t remember when I wrote this song, but I wrote it while I was thinking about the ways people I used to know changed after we stopped being friends. I wrote it as a way to move on from everything that has happened within the past year or so. I find change to be very interesting, especially when I can see it happen in real time in people I've grown up with. the knife (acoustic) — I came up with the main guitar riff for this song months ago, but I could never put lyrics on top of it, or actually turn it into a full song until I wrote this version. Lyrically, the song covers similar themes to “lines to include somewhere,” but the songs are about different people. I labeled this song as the acoustic version because I intend on recording a “full band” version of the song somewhere down the line because I think it has the potential to sound cool. No promises though.

Birthday cards — This was the last song I wrote for the EP, and it is one of my favorites on the project! I wrote this song after finding old birthday cards from over the past few years, many of which were written by people who aren’t really in my life anymore. I always feel strange about throwing away cards from people, whether it be from family members, teachers, current friends, former friends, and basically anyone else, but it also feels somewhat strange to keep them, so they always end up in a pile in the corner of one of my bookshelves. I wanted this song to be loud and almost obnoxious, and I had a lot of fun recording everything.

6 months — This was the second song I wrote from this tracklist, and I picked this track to release as a single leading up to the EP’s release. I wrote this song because I was really annoyed with someone in my life who kept trying to ask me, as well as other people, for favors. I tend to remind myself that I won’t have to interact with these specific classmates after graduating from high school, and this song was partially a product of that constant reminder.

When I came up with the intro riff for this song, the lyrics, and the rest of the song in general, came to me quite easily.

Maybe it’s due to my recency bias, but I think this is the best song I’ve ever written and I’m really happy with how everything turned out.

I wanted this project to be exactly six songs for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to see if I could keep my focus on creating high-quality songs over meeting the 30-minute album timestamp I tend to reach for when creating projects.

This resulted in me writing more songs and replacing them with others until I ended up with something I was satisfied with. I also wanted to end the project with “6 months,” and having it in a spot other than track six on the EP felt wrong to me.

I’m really happy with how woohoo! turned out, and I hope you give it a listen! Because I tend to focus on making longer projects, making something shorter was a really nice change to my music-making process. Prioritizing quality over quantity is one of my biggest art-related goals, and while it does test my patience quite a bit, I think it’ll be better for my work in the long-term.

living my youtuber dreams! (kind of)

I started making YouTube videos (albeit inconsistently) when I was in elementary school. I was inspired by my other elementary school friends and classmates who posted online videos and I wanted to share my passions on the internet. Dedicated to stop-motion animation videos, drawing tutorials, and speedpaints, the “Claire is Awesome” channel began the start of my interest in content creation.

That channel went through as many as five names before I settled on the “animatedclairebear” name. This was the username for my art Instagram account, so I thought it would be fitting for this channel since the types of content I posted were very similar.

I shared videos on this channel for many years, but then I eventually forgot about it. Over time, I began shifting those videos to just

speedpaints with no commentary, and I became very bored with the formula I had. I eventually stopped posting on this channel, and later set all the videos to private.

microphone, as well as an audio interface.

I eventually started another YouTube channel dedicated to music. I wanted to record my improvement as a guitarist, filming covers and eventually original instrumental songs. Though I did go through a couple of usernames, this channel became the cal ear channel as we know it today!

After letting go of my insecurities related to songwriting, I bit the bullet and started writing and recording original songs with lyrics, posting them to YouTube. People who watch my videos encouraged me to continue, resulting in me posting more original songs, as well as covers of my favorite emo and indie rock songs. I gained a new part of myself and I was so excited to put it to use!

I spent about a year posting on the channel before I even considered recording my progress as a singer.

Though I was interested in using my voice in music and in videos, I never had the courage to do so until 2023.

That year marked an important moment in the cal ear project: the year I got my hands on my mom’s old

I always liked watching commentary videos on YouTube, whether it be about internet drama, advertisements, products, movies, and of course, music, but I didn’t think I had what it took to make my own videos in that genre. I considered creating art commentary videos as an elementary and middle schooler, but I never wanted to write

scripts, show my face on camera, or edit long-form videos, so I always refrained. Because of this, it took me years to look into making my own “talking videos,” but slowly, I worked up the courage to incorporate those kinds of videos into my music channel.

This was the year I finally decided to diversify my YouTube channel. After thinking about the artists that shaped my music taste during the COVID-19 pandemic and inspired me to make music, I knew it was time to try my hand at these kinds of videos. I wrote a script in my Notes app on my iPad, opened the Photo Booth app on my laptop, and started talking!

The first talking video I made was about Jimi Somewhere. I talked about how I looked up to him as a musician and as a graphic designer, and uploaded it to my channel. Not expecting it to get many views, I made an announcement on my Instagram, tagging Jimi on the story post I made.

Though I wasn’t expecting much, Jimi actually watched my video and said he liked my work! He also asked to see the magazine because I mentioned it in the video, so I sent him the link to the website.

liked, bands I love that don't have profile of mine. I’m always asking nearly enough attention, and even “what’s next?” in regards to my books I really enjoy! channel. Maybe I’ll start vlogging a little more. Maybe I’ll talk more about Though I hated the idea of editing my interests. Maybe I’ll find more videos back when I created speedpaints artists to highlight in my videos. I’ll pre-pandemic, I can’t help but laugh definitely use my channel to post more now because I really didn’t have much song ideas though, that’s for sure. to worry about. I edit all of my videos on iMovie, and my editing is very bare The internet is such a vast, sometimes minimum; I combine a bunch of clips, intimidating place to share work, but paste a bunch of images onto the I’ve been able to interact with so many screen, and I’m basically done. It’s skilled, multifaceted individuals. So really simple, but I think that simplicity many people online have inspired me is why I love this style of video. to create and improve, but most of them have no idea I exist! It’s kind of I’ve learned a lot while making these cool to think about. I hope I can do the talking videos. I’ve learned how to same one day. formulate my thoughts in a clear and concise manner, I’ve improved the clarity of my speech a little bit, and I’ve learned a rudimentary amount of video editing! I find picking up new skills to be so much fun, and I think my past self would be pretty impressed with who I’ve become as a creator.

My YouTube channel is still teeny tiny in the grand scheme of things, but 593 subscribers is bigger than anything I could have imagined as a fifth grader.

I’ve gotten to talk to so many cool people because of my silly posting habits, and I’ve had a wonderful time We had a discussion about selling so far! magazines, and he told me about how he used to print and sell his old I’m very much looking forward to magazines, which was incredibly whatever else I’ll do with this little helpful and I am very appreciative of his words!

Being inspired to create more, I posted another talking video about boy pablo, another artist who inspired me to make music during the pandemic. Having an outlet to actually use my voice to recount my experiences was freeing.

I’ve always had a little bit of trouble orally expressing myself, which is why I tend to stick to writing when telling stories, so having a new way to express myself not only expanded my methods of self-expression, but it also provided a way for me to tackle a challenge I’ve been struggling with for about as long as I can remember.

These two videos became installments of my series, Artists That Defined My Teenhood. Soon after, I started covering other topics, like albums I

making my mark though doodling

me! me! me!

I think I know myself pretty well. I know that I love drawing characters with giant eyes. I know that my biggest art inspirations are the musicians I listen to, the Scott Pilgrim comics, and the manga and anime I grew up with. I also know that when I’m in the middle of a creative block, the only way I can draw is by doodling in my sketchbook with the mechanical pencil I use for my calculus homework.

Doodling has been one of my favorite ways to calm myself down, to let go of the overthinking I do when I want to make art, and to navigate my emotions.

I’ve always struggled with talking about my feelings, so I’ve found ways to express them that work for me, and doodling is one of those methods.

I like doodling myself because I think I can capture my essence pretty well. I always doodle myself with a giant face; it gives me lots of space to draw facial expressions (and humongous eyes).

I love how carefree doodling can me.

It’s a great way to unwind, especially since I don't really need a reference to draw my own characters or capture how I’m feeling in that moment. I find comfort in repetition, and these doodles definitely fall into that comfort zone. As much as I love trying new things in my art and exploring the limits of my creativity, scribbling on pieces of paper with random pencils or ballpoint pens, or on my arms with Papermate flair tip pens feels like home.

When I’m not drawing Doug, the Sun, or myself, I like to make little comics.

I’ve been trying to be more positive lately. I do a lot of thinking in silence, and one day, I realized how much of a hater I’ve become and how gross it feels to be so full of negativity. I know it comes from a place of overwhelm and anxiety about the future, as well as feeling unable to control my circumstances, but I remembered that I have ways to not bottle up my emotions. I remembered that I can change my mindset, and making comics has helped me navigate my emotions in a way that works best for me! I’ve been trying to find the beauty in the life I get to live (hence the title of this issue), and I made this comic to remind myself of the beauty of

perseverance.

These comics, and doodling as a whole, show me that imperfection is inevitable, but it doesn’t necessarily take away from the actual content or message. It’s like people in real life!

We’re all flawed, but most of the time, those flaws shouldn’t get in the way of our ability to love ourselves and others.

I love how art can archive these imperfections. I love flipping through my old sketchbooks and seeing how my art has changed over the years. It reflects how I’ve grown and changed over time, my inspirations, my struggles, and my perception of myself.

I’m learning to embrace the changes that come my way, and I think my art shows that, whether it be my doodles, more refined drawings, music, and even this magazine.

Change and imperfection are inevitable and necessary, and I’m happy that I’m finally coming to accept that!

“Hope,” November 6, 2024

My doodling style has changed over the years, but I’ve always found myself doodling self portraits and little characters I create. I have a lot of retired characters I use for doodling: Carrot Girl, the Flower Kids, Green Bean, Chad, and other unnamed characters from my childhood. I have two characters that I incorporate into my work now: Doug and the Sun. I draw them in my sketchbook, on my album covers, on school whiteboards, on the ripped up envelopes covering my desk—just about everywhere. The Sun is the main logo for all things cal ear-related, like this magazine!

I got back into making comics two years ago. I realized that I can make comics that aren’t very detailed or dedicated to an ongoing series. I realized how fun it can be to write and draw out my feelings in this bite-sized medium. It’s fun to see what I can come up with using a limited amount of space.

making

After I finished releasing and promoting Issue #4 of CAL EAR & FRIENDS, I stopped thinking about making magazines for a couple months.

Finals, AP exams, and preparing for college applications took the forefront of my brain.

After school ended, I had my wisdom teeth removed, and I spent a lot of time resting. That was when I started brainstorming for the fifth issue of this project. I knew I wanted to photograph the bands at the 6/15 show I planned on attending, I wanted to talk about my trip to Japan, which was about a month away at this point, and I wanted to talk about my own art projects (like usual).

As the months passed by, I accumulated a lot of photos, I put out two cal ear projects, and I had a number of stories I wanted to include.

There was one issue though: I didn’t have very many visual art projects to talk about in Issue #5. Of course I had a few design projects from my graphic design class at school, but I didn’t have a lot of personal work. I’ve been in a funk with most art mediums for the last few months; I can’t get myself to create fully-rendered digital art pieces and I’ve been struggling with creating full-colored, polished drawings and paintings. The one thing I’ve been able to draw with, however, is the single mechanical pencil I keep out on my desk. With it, I’m able to create all sorts of doodles and sketches, so I thought, why not talk about that in the art section of the magazine?

After I completed that spread, I had one more empty space in this issue: the space this story takes up. I didn’t have any other projects I wanted to talk about, so I spent some time

brainstorming, when I realized that I I used this really old tripod that has could simply talk about the making of been in my home for as long as I can this issue! remember. I used to use it for my old YouTube videos from when I was in When I begin working on these elementary school, but my mom ended magazines, I end up being completely up putting it away when I stopped immersed in the project. I always try to using it as frequently as I used to. do something different with each issue, Though it takes some trial and error to and this magazine was no different. get the camera positioning right, I love While I liked the ideas I played with in the independence I get from using this Issue #4, I knew I could do better. tripod, and it brings me back to when I used to make silly art videos as a young First, I wanted to alter the logo a little kid! bit. I designed the main cal ear logo in my graphic design class last year, but I For cameras, I used my dad’s Nikon (I haphazardly added the “& Friends” on don’t know the model, but it’s the Procreate before adding it to the camera I bring to shows), as well as my magazine cover. I don’t hate it, but I grandma’s old Canon Powershot wanted something cleaner, so I typed SD1400 IS. out the “& Friends” for this version of the logo.

I also finally learned how to use Adobe Lightroom! I always found the program I also wanted to put my face in this intimidating, but I had to learn how to magazine more than I’ve done in use it for school, so I was able to bring previous issues. Though this magazine those skills to this project. I think I’m is mainly about me, I haven’t really put finally starting to enjoy editing photos; my face in it beyond opening pages. I it only took me five years! don’t usually have my photos taken by other people since I’m typically the one I used to spend no more than three photographing others, so I thought it days putting together issues spanning would be fun to take some photos of the whole school year, but over time, myself!

I’ve been using more time to cover each semester. Though the process can feel a little bit time consuming now, I feel like I’m putting in more thought and effort into designing each magazine, so the extra time spent feels worth it.

I wish I could spend all the time in the world working on this! CAL EAR & FRIENDS is the epitome of a passion project for me. I’ve learned so much just by working on these magazines, from design, to the kinds of stories I like telling, to navigating Google Slides (yes, I use Google Slides to put these issues together).

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7/15 Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens & Ropeway

baby’s first trip abroad!

A Summer in Japan

During the month of July, my family and I went on our first trip abroad. We spent twelve days traveling around Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and more. Visiting the country was a dream come true as I’ve grown up on Japanese pop culture, food, and travel vlogs, but it was also my parents’ dream to experience everything Japan had to offer! Through the heavy rain, the numerous Don Quijote stops, the Google Maps detours, and the late-night convenience store runs, I had a great time in Japan!

Herb Gardens: While we were in Kobe, we visited the Nunobiki Herb Gardens and it was one of my favorite places we visited. I saw so many pretty plants, cool bugs, and the view was wonderful! In the cable car, I was able to see every part of the herb garden and it was so awesome! They also have a cafe and numerous seating locations both inside and outdoors. When my family and I visited, it began to rain heavily near the end of our visit, but despite that, I had a very pleasant time.

Nara Deer Park: Though I’ve seen an odd deer or two roaming around my neighborhood over the years, I have never seen this many deer in a single location. Nara Deer Park is home to over 1000 deer, many of which will follow visitors around in hopes of being fed. While it was a very unique and interesting experience, I can’t say I wasn’t slightly afraid of the deer. One of them bit a hole in my shorts and I’m still not over it!

Mt. Fuji: Visiting Mount Fuji was a very fun experience, too! We had a tour guide who took us from our hotel in Shibuya to Fujiyoshida, where we walked around Arakurayama Sengen Park. We were very lucky to arrive before the clouds covered the view of Mount Fuji! We visited Kamiyoshida, Oishi Park (they had really good ice cream here), and the Fuji Motorsports Museum. My favorite part was going to Oishi Park because they had so many flowers and big bumblebees!

Big, fluffy bumble bees aren’t a common sight where I live, so I couldn’t help but watch them pollinate the flowers because they are so cute! I bought this Mt. Fuji keychain over there, too. It’s currently missing a foot, but it’s one of my favorite souvenirs from this trip.

Tsukiji Market: We stayed in Ginza twice during our trip, and we stayed in hotels that were a short walk away from Tsukiji Outer Market. Every corner we turned was filled with a variety of street vendors serving anything from fresh produce, to sushi, to mochi and other deserts, to wagyu, and more. My family and I ate breakfast at a gyudon (beef rice bowl) place in the market called Kitsuneya. It was one of the most memorable dishes from this trip. This stall has two menu items and a very small standing area for customers to eat, which matched the energy of this fast-paced and bustling environment.

knick knacks & doo-hickeys

Souvenirs from Japan!

I love cute stuff, and Japan is chock full of the most adorable character designs! From plushies, to figurines, to guitar picks, and more, here are some of my favorite pickups from my trip to Japan!

Plushies: Before we headed to the airport, my mom told us not to buy any stuffed animals because they would take up too much space in our luggage, but obviously, this rule was not enforced and I returned to California with Sukobururu, Tokyo Skytree’s dog mascot, and Usahana, the multi-colored bunny from Sanrio’s extensive lineup. I thought these characters were too adorable to leave the country without, so I added them to my collection of plush toys in my room!

Capsule toy collection: I’ve always been interested in capsule toy machines, so I purchased a bunch of items from these machines! I bought the Hello Kitty, Mofusand, and James the Red Engine toys in Osaka, the torii magnet from Nara Deer Park, the Cinnamoroll and Sumikkogurashi pins from Tokyo Skytree, and the Usagi hair tie from Tsukiji Market in Ginza. I felt like a little kid again and it was great!

SUSU by Ikkyu Nakajima guitar picks: I bought these in the Fender Flagship store in Shibuya. The store itself is comprised of several floors and I felt like a kid in a candy store perusing each section! As for the picks themselves, I found them while looking through the guitar accessories section of the store. I am a huge fan of Nakajima’s work, especially in the band Tricot, and finding this collaboration and being able to purchase it was a dream come true! I love the designs on both the guitar picks and the packaging so much and I still haven’t separated them from the packaging.

bringing it back!

When I began working on the first issue I thought bringing back the instant film of CAL EAR & FRIENDS at the end of project for my fifth issue would be fun my freshman year, I had a few spreads because there’s something I love about dedicated to the photos I took of my tangible media. I’ve spent a lot of time classmates on my Instax Mini 9. Now working digitally, whether it be on that this magazine has new eyes on it, I Google Slides for this magazine, thought it would be fun to bring back photographing everything on digital my little instant film project! cameras, or spending hours on GarageBand, but having something I For context: I received this camera as a can hold in my hand is a completely birthday present from my old friend, different experience, whether it be a Nicole, when we were in fifth grade. physical copy of CAL EAR & FRIENDS, After I used the film that came with the my notebook I use for journaling, or camera, I didn’t take photos on it for a obviously, these instant film photos! few years, and eventually, it began to collect dust in a drawer in my room.

Most of these photos were taken at school. There aren’t really any I decided to purchase more instant film interesting stories about behind most in ninth grade to document my life, my of these photos; I mostly took the friends, and my time in high school. photos when I remembered to. A With around thirty photos I couple of these photos do have different accumulated throughout that school backstory, though. year, I decided to create a magazine to put these images to use.

I took the photo on the left of the bottom row at Dockweiler State Beach.

I carried this project onto my second People in my grade from all of the local issue of the magazine with the high schools planned a bonfire to remaining film I had from the variety celebrate the start of our senior year. pack I bought for the first issue, but None of my close friends were after that, I took a break from the interested in going, but I thought I project, mostly because I didn’t want to would be able to get some photos for spend a bunch of money on film for the this magazine. following issues, and I also feared that having such an extended project could When I arrived at the beach, I didn’t become boring. exactly know what to do with myself. I don’t usually go to large gatherings like this, so I felt like a fish out of water for the first few minutes. I eventually ran into Sarah (left). We’ve known each other for a year or two since we’ve shared certain classes at school, and neither of us really had anyone to talk to, so we, along with Avery (right), decided to spend our time at the bonfire together, and it was a lot more fun than I expected it to be!

Instax project’s return to the mag!

friends arrived a little later. Though I had to wake up way too early for this, I had a lot of fun with my peers!

I bring my Instax camera to school with my every day. It sits at the bottom of my backpack in the same pocket as my lunch and water bottle, which obviously sounds like a bad idea, but I have nowhere else to put it. This did not work in my favor when I forgot to properly close my water bottle in the morning, so it spilled water all over my bag. I remember being in my English class and noticing a large puddle underneath my backpack, and the mini-heart attack I had realizing that my camera was inside the sopping wet backpack. Though wet, my camera survived, which I’m very relieved about now is too early to be parting ways with such a prized possession!

Instant film photos mean a lot to me as an artist.

I’ve always loved documenting the world around me, whether it be through my art projects, or by accumulating over 11,000 photos and videos on my phone, so having another medium to archive my life that I use more sparingly, or shuffle in my hands because of its physicality was a nice change of pace. I’ve been riding a wave of nostalgia lately, thinking about how my art has developed over time, as well as how I’ve changed as a person throughout my time in high school.

From my freshman through junior years, I found myself FREAKING OUT about growing up, and how nervous I was to be an adult. I turn 18 in March, and as I sift through college applications, worry about my Calculus grade, and try to breathe through it all, I still feel very nervous about my future, but I don’t feel myself wanting to go back in time as often as I used to; The middle photo on the bottom row I think looking through my photos was taken at my school’s Senior during that time is enough. That has to Sunrise, a tradition where high school be some kind of growth, right? seniors gather at our football field to watch the sunrise. I got to school at around 5:15 in the morning, and, Luc and Tuna (pictured) and our other

where’s your childlike whimsy? our last halloween as kids!

As high school seniors, post-high school life, adulthood, and in general, the future are at the forefront of our minds. Speaking from experience, as I prepare to graduate, I try to remind myself of my current position; While adulthood is right around the corner, I am still a child, meaning I can still unabashedly enjoy “childish” activities, like trick-or-treating!

I went trick-or-treating in a friend’s neighborhood for the first time when I was in fifth grade, and it soon became one of my favorite holiday traditions. It was a fun way to stay up late on a school night, hang out with friends, and of course, collect free candy from all the neighbors!

In seventh grade (2019), I purchased a Halloween costume that I would wear every single year. The costume was a box of crayons, and now, five years later, I have a bit of an emotional attachment to it. I could never find a costume that I liked more, so I thought, why not keep wearing it?

This year, I knew I wanted to go trick-or-treating one last time, but I didn’t know who I wanted to go with. I considered tagging along with my brother and his friends, but then I found out my friends were available, so we decided to go together!

After a day and a half of trying to plan our antics (we are awful at coordinating events), we finally decided on a time and location. Paulo dressed up as a boy on his first day of school (propellor hat, $13 lollipop, and all), Luc as a man in an orange shirt from a stock image we found the day before, and Tuna (not pictured) was Joy from Inside Out, but only for the first half of the day because it was way too cold for such a costume.

The first neighborhood we visited had very little Halloween spirit this year, which was unexpected because many, many more houses decorated in the years prior, which was disappointing.

After about an hour and a half of mindlessly walking around the dead

neighborhood, we switched gears and ended up in Tuna’s neighborhood, which was much more lively, and we received lots of candy!

Later that evening, we found ourselves in my family friend’s neighborhood, describing our disappointment and satisfaction with the neighborhoods we visited to my parents, watching the groups of trick-or-treaters and plotting our next moves.

We ended the night by stopping for boba, but we spent the whole car ride to and from the shop blasting the most obnoxious music in the car and singing (screaming) along. It felt great knowing that we didn’t have the school the next day!

As the weather changes from blistering hot to cold and windy, I find myself looking forward to what’s next, but I’m cherishing every moment in the meantime.

keeping a journal!

I’ve been consistently journaling in this little notebook since around mid-September.

Here’s how it’s been so far:

(the notebook in question)

thank you so freakin’ much!

I’ve been doing a lot of retrospection lately, partially because I need to recount memories for this magazine, but also because it’s my last year of high school. My time in high school has been a bit of a rollercoaster, but despite its bad parts, I’ve had a great time!

CAL EAR & FRIENDS has reinforced my love for documenting everything: the good, the bad, the mundane, and whatever else happens in and out of school. I always look forward to bringing my cameras to school to archive the antics my friends and I get ourselves into.

This project has helped me develop my graphic design skills outside of the classroom, giving me an outlet to exercise full creative control on a project. While I love the sense of

structure I get from in-school design assignments, I love having the flexibility to compile whatever I want into my personal projects. This magazine is nowhere near perfect, but I think that imperfection allows this publication to accurately reflect who I am when I work on each issue.

This magazine had brought back my love for storytelling. As a young child, I always wanted to create stories, whether it be attempting to write a book (and quickly losing interest), or trying my hand at creating a comic series (this also didn’t work out). CAL EAR & FRIENDS has become the perfect outlet for me to tell my stories in a way that’s authentically me—and it’s so much fun! I thought I lost my passion for writing during my freshman and sophomore years, but working on this publication reinstated my love for it, and over the years, I’ve become more and more excited to work on these issues.

and learning when and how to form boundaries has changed my perspective on life. It’s almost embarrassing to say this because I know there is so much ahead of me and so much to learn, but it’s true! I think I’m finally learning how to break out of my shell, and I think I’ve taken more than enough time to do this. The best part is that I feel so much happier! Even when everything feels bleak and impossible to overcome, I’ve learned to find joy in the boring, almost insignificant parts of life—the quiet mornings on the weekends when I wake up early, accidentally coming up with fun riffs on my guitar, matching t-shirts with random people at the grocery store, my afternoon naps.

Issue #5 would not be possible without so many people. My family has always been so supportive of my creative endeavors, this magazine included.

They’ve take me to shows, they deal with me loudly singing and playing my instruments, they support my dreams of doing all of this for a living, and I tried a lot of new activities and more. They’ve been inspiring me to experienced so many new things this persevere since day one, and I’m magazine cycle and it has been such a forever grateful for that. wonderful last six months. There was a point in my life where I felt afraid to I wouldn’t be able to have most of this experience the new and unfamiliar, and material in the magazine without my looking back, I realize how much I wonderful and awesome friends. It has missed out on. I still find comfort in the taken me some time to find a group of familiar (most of the time spent on people that I truly feel comfortable working on this issue was spent in my around, but I think I finally have a solid bedroom), but making new friends group of friends that respect and listen outside of my small circle, exploring the to each other, share a similar sense of world outside of my hometown,

humor, and actively seek to interact with each other, even outside of school, whether it be in person or online. I love being able to loudly sing the worst songs together, send strange videos to one another, get into our odd debates, talk about our classes and home lives, and just exist together. I finally feel seen!

I also want to mention one of the people online who have inspired me.

I’ve practically grown up online, and because of that, I’ve been inspired by so many visual artists and musicians who share their work online. It’s crazy how the internet can connect people from all over the world—people who would likely never meet otherwise. One of the main reasons I chose graphic design as the art form I want to pursue in the future was because of Jimi Somewhere.

He has been inspiring me to improve in music and visual art since I was in middle school. After he saw my YouTube video about him, he shared the old magazines he used to make with his friends when they were seventeen years old. As a seventeen year old myself, these magazines are both relatable and beautiful. Seeing how Jimi and the other talented people in the magazines felt about adulthood and moving on from their childhoods was comforting. I could relate to their fears about growing older, and seeing that I’m not alone in my anxieties. It also helps seeing that these people grew up, found ways to live off of their passions, and now feel comfortable as young adults. I still feel like a little kid, but seeing that everything seems to get better at some point makes me feel like

I’m right on track to be “successful,” whatever success may entail. I’ve been spending so much time worrying about the future that I forgot to live in the moment. I love being a kid, and I want to spend as much time as I can doing just that.

I’m so grateful for all of my teachers who have made me feel comfortable in their classes and have even encouraged me to pursue my passions. For the longest time, I never really had super strong connections with my teachers, but this has changed within the past two years and I’m really glad! I look forward to going to class because of them. I admire the passion they have for what they do and it inspires me to give everything my all. They’ve shown me how fun learning is and I hope they know that they are changing lives (mine included!).

Finally, I want to thank YOU for reading CAL EAR & FRIENDS. Whether you’ve been keeping up with the magazine since Issue #1 in 2022, or this is your first time being a part of the “cal ear nation,” having eyes on my creative projects inspires me to keep photographing everything, to keep telling my stories, and to keep creating in every sense of the word. Though I make most art projects for myself, it certainly feels good to have other eyes on my work!

This is the most fun I’ve had working on this magazine so far, and I am so excited for what’s to come! This publication seems to get better with each issue and I look forward to how

this project will grow in the future.

Thank you for getting this far. Stay safe, and I hope you stick around until next time.

next issue: june 2025

tinyurl.com/calearandfriends