cal ear and friends 4

So Much To Do! - January ‘24-May ‘24

table of contents My letter to you!

3

School

4

Music

10

Art

18

Stories

20

hello!

This is my third year of working on this magazine and gathering material and putting together each issue still feels as exciting as the ones that come before it.

I’ve been learning a lot about my hobbies, interests, friends, and myself in general through these magazines, and as corny as it feels to say it, I’m so grateful that I am surrounded by so much creativity and kindness in the communities I interact with. I’ve met a lot of cool people within the last few months, and with them, I’ve made so many fun memories.

Whether this is your first time looking through one of my magazines, or maybe you’ve been keeping up since the issue I made in my freshman year, I hope you enjoy the photos, drawings, stories, and everything else.

Enjoy!

Claire

serious business here…

get a load of these guys!

Wind, Rain, or Shine: our time at the amphitheater At school, there are a number On Bring Anything But a should be ok, right? of places my classmates like to Backpack day, Kaeden brought spend their brunch and lunch Leboneski (his life-size skeleton I’ve seen a lot of changes in my breaks at. Since sophomore Halloween decoration) to school life lately, but I’m happy year, my friends have spent school and we kept taking the to call all of these people in the our free time at the skeleton apart to flail its limbs photos here my friends! We amphitheater (when it’s not at each other. We received a match each other’s energy quite pouring rain outside, anyway). handful of strange looks from well and I always feel welcome Whether we’re pretending to our peers, but it was really around them. I’ve known most fight, cramming homework funny. of the people in our little group five minutes before class since elementary school, but it starts, or being iPad kids I’m writing this in mid-March, has been nice getting to actually together, the amphitheater just a few days from my know them this year. hasn’t failed us. birthday party. My mom told us to put together a playlist of Lately, it feels like the only Even if we’re freezing halfway songs we want to sing during thing that remains constant in to death, melting into our karaoke contest. My friends my time at school is change, but puddles, or being blown away and I have been having a lot of having my friends around keeps by the wind, my friends and I fun with this task. From Weezer me anchored. I always look have yet to change spots to and Radiohead, to Cocomelon forward to seeing them when I spend time. There’s nothing and Gummy Bear, we’ve been go to school, and I can’t wait to stopping us, but we’ve blasting our playlist on full make more memories with essentially claimed this spot volume at the amphitheater; I them all! for so long that we don’t feel feel a little bad for the admin like moving. who have to listen to “Cotton Eye Joe” and “Wheels on the I have a number of funny Bus” every day, but we haven’t memories that take place here gotten any complaints from from the last few months. them yet, so it

it’s the same thing every “IT ALL FEELS SO MONOTONOUS!” is a phrase I find myself thinking quite often when I’m getting through my classes.

Sometimes this monotony gets boring and I yearn for something as small as a substitute teacher, or a bigger disruption to the sameness (like a field trip!), but other times, going through the same routine every day feels comforting. Even if the weeks go by feeling as boring as the one before it, I think I’m beginning to appreciate the smaller details in each day, and it’s making me enjoy each day more—even if it’s just by a little bit. Here are some of the ups and downs I wanted to share.

THE END (of working on the yearbook) IS HERE! I’ve been doing yearbook since seventh grade, but the satisfaction that comes with ending the last deadline with all the pages submitted never leaves. Each yearbook is made with lessons we learned from the previous one, and seeing how each year’s editors learn to improve the process of designing the book is so interesting to see. I still can’t believe that I only have one more year of yearbook; the stress and excitement has flown by so quickly!

Now that we’re done with the book, “study hall” has begun, but by study hall, I mean bringing my iPad to school and working on this project every chance I get.

I know I can’t take this free time for granted though—distribution is right around the corner! This is also my last year where I have to distribute the yearbooks at Senior Sunset and thinking about that makes me feel so weird! It’s always bittersweet saying goodbye to the yearbook seniors, but it’s been fun with them and a lot of them truly carried this book.

time…or is it?

Class, tutoring, and everything else

TO TUTOR OR BE BE TUTORED: TUTORING AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL! I never thought that I would actually enjoy tutoring the snotty middle schoolers, but I guess anything can be enjoyable when you have friends can can witness all the nonsense with you. Since I started last semester, the students have mellowed out to some degree, but lately, there have been more tutors (high school students in need of NHS hours) than kids that show up to tutoring, so it has been almost relaxing, which is strange because literally no one ever has put the words “middle school students” and “relaxing” in the same sentence before. Even the kids that show up don’t even need tutoring most of the time, whether it be because they understand the material, or because they’re too busy watching Fortnite clips on the school computers, but it’s fine; it makes the hour more bearable.

MEETING HERE, MEETING THERE I joined a few clubs this year, but one of them ceased to exist at the start of this semester, and the other one stopped having meetings. One of them stayed alive (to a certain degree) though. Although my attendance was absolutely atrocious with NAHS (sorry Jegg), I think it was my favorite club that I joined this year. I had bad experiences with this club a couple of years ago because the officers at the time were super unorganized, but Jegg actually took this club places and we did stuff! Fun stuff! Many of these meetings happened when I had to photograph other clubs for yearbook, but I always liked stopping by to say hi to my friends in the club. We also got to design stickers and Jegg had them printed, which was super cool!

what’s in my backpack?

Here are a couple of my must-have items in my backpack (not to scale):

raincoat

backpack cover (for the rain!)

camera

hair ties and hair clips (originally 3 hair ties - camille stole one of them)

wipes pencil pouch!

mi

3 e u s s i & s r e d l o f . sc

ske

tch

boo k

measuring tape (for my graphic design class!)

spare change

bin der hun (& d pap reds ers o f )

tis

s e su

these bands Old cameras and good music!

One of my New Year’s Resolutions this year is to see more live music. After taking photos for my last issue, finding more shows to go to and photograph came to the forefront of my mind.

This magazine has allowed me to use my love of documenting my life a purpose. When I go to these events, I now purposely try to take good photos of the bands, which sounds kind of silly now that I’m writing it out, but until very recently, I didn’t think I had that much of an interest in photography. I’ve never been very good at taking

photos compared to my peers my local area). in yearbook, so I didn’t really focus in on skillset. I think All the cameras I've used for being able to photograph photographing these shows events I have a genuine have either been my interest in changed my grandma’s old digital camera perspective on this though. that I’ve been using for the last year or so, or my dad’s Obviously, in order to improve nine-year-old Nikon that I at any skill, a person has to still don’t know the ins and practice and actively learn to outs of. I should probably get better, and I don’t think I invest in better equipment for really did this until I realized this eventually if I keep doing that I was having fun when I these projects, but I’ve yielded was taking photos at some pretty decent (to my low music-related events, whether standards, anyway) results it be at my school’s orchestra with the tools I have, and it concerts or the Valentine’s makes me excited to keep show at Impulse Music Co. going to these events to take (my favorite music store in photos.

prior to going to this show were the bands War Pact and Atavan.

I saw some different bands play over the last few months.

When I was at Impulse Music Co.’s Valentine’s Show, I was originally there to watch Thalassa play, but I also stayed to see Cellswan and MKNAOMI play, and I was blown away by their performances!

I was thoroughly entertained and all the bands made paying the five dollars very well worth it.

I also went to the Heart Destruct Music Festival’s Tryx¡, which was the first show from student-run organization. I had so much fun there for a number of reasons, but seeing all the bands play, the audience enjoying the music, and also playing in a band for the first time made me want to do it again (but more on that later).

The bands I hadn’t listened to

Atavan, the first band that played, had these scream-y vocals and emo/math rock-inspired riffs that I really enjoyed. Each of the members (besides the drummer) kept switching instruments throughout their set and I thought it looked kind of funny, but they had this really cool-looking Squier Paranormal Offset Telecaster that really caught my eye. I also could not stop laughing at one of the members’ shirts; it was one of those muscle-print t-shirts (shown in the photo above), but every time that person walked past me, I tried so hard to contain myself.

Anyway, they sounded pretty good.

about how good this band sounded and I’m glad I got to hear them for the first time at this show.

While working on this, I also got to see Thalassa play a couple of times (both at the Valentine’s show and Tryx¡) and they sounded great--but when do they not? I’m really glad I got to take better photos of them this time around because the last time, my camera wasn’t working properly and I was standing too far away from the stage. I also saw Yoshida play again at DENO, another HDMF event.

They played with three other acts and I had a great time there. I met so many nice people there and it was so much fun!.

I don’t have enough space to put all of my favorite photos War Pact was more of a metal with all of this text here, so band. I’m not too big into take a look at some photos I metal music, but they like on the next couple of sounded really good too. My pages! bandmates had been talking

some of the coolest people out there!

another open mic, joining a band, and other fun stuff!

taking over the world?

Impulse Music Co. hosts open mic nights on the first Wednesday of every month.

After playing in front of people for the first time back in December, I knew I wanted to play again the next time I was able to.

February rolled around and I decided to sign up again to play. I covered Ovlov’s “Where’s My Dini?” which is one of my favorite songs. My friends, Esther, Anika, and Jackson came to watch me play and it was a lot of fun!

My voice was so shaky while I was singing and I bumped into the microphone a couple times, but it didn’t make me love playing on Impulse’s stage any less. It was also pouring rain on this day, so in and out of the store to shelter my guitar before and after playing was funny.

I’ve been wanting to play music with other people for as long as I’ve been making music under the cal ear name, so when my old karate classmate, Aiden, asked me to play guitar for The Biting Thumbs, I knew what I wanted to do.

Preparing for Tryx¡ was some of the most fun I’d had in months, and I was so glad that I was able to learn new music play it with Craig and Aiden! When we actually played at the show, I had such a good time (despite messing up every song…oops!). I met some really cool people at that show and playing in front of people in the band makes me want to play at shows even more than I did before!

the making of

After releasing “things One of my biggest but I couldn’t think of to do,” my last EP, I challenges when anything for months. wanted to go back to creating this album was The song almost wasn’t making my “typical” cal designing the album a part of the album, but ear music -- the loud artwork. I was inspired I eventually wrote down electric guitars, by my other EP, some lyrics that I emo-inspired riffs and “Ogular,” specifically the thought sounded alright. lyrics, and including maximalist feel the self bass (I didn’t really use portrait scribbles had. I Working on this album my bass guitar on the tried a couple of other really helped to push me EP) -- but I wanted to designs and mediums out of the creative block change things up a bit. before I ended up with I was going through the album cover as it is with my songwriting. It This album is meant to now. also helped me navigate be a sequel to my last my emotions in a album, “Stomach Pains,” Another aspect of productive and fulfilling hence the thematic working on this project way. When the album similarities in the album that proved to me more was finally released, a titles. I think this album challenging than I lot of my friends told me shows the development thought came in the that they enjoyed it and in my sound and form of the song “to fall it made me so happy! songwriting since the asleep.” I came up with Making music has release of “Stomach and recorded the helped me form so many Pains” and I definitely instrumental for this connections to those like “In the Gut” more. 8-minute song, but it around me, and I am so There are a couple songs took me about two happy to have met such from this project that months to write lyrics. I skilled people in the I’ve stopped liking since would come back to the local music community. putting them out, but instrumental They continue to inspire I’m still very happy with periodically and try to me to create and keep the result as a whole! hum out vocal melodies the excitement of music that could work with it, alive!

fun facts about the songs on the album!

scribble

away!

I haven’t been drawing nearly as much as I used to in previous years. I still love painting, sketching, and doodling, so I try to draw whenever I have ideas and motivation.

Here are some artworks I’ve worked on over the last few months!

Acrylic painting on an old board from taekwondo. I wanted to experiment with different colors and I liked the end result!

Album artwork for my next project! (top secret…shhhhh)

Me, friends, etc. - Graphite pencils are one of my favorite mediums and my friends (and people in general) are some of my favorite subjects to draw.

Self portrait - sometimes, there are paintings that make me question whether or not I enjoy acrylic paint. This was one of those paintings.

Personal logo - this was an assignment for my advanced graphic design class. I had wanted an actual logo for my music project and came up with this in class. This was probably one of my favorite projects in the class.

Thumbnail sketches - This is another project for my design class. For every assignment, we create thumbnail sketches before beginning our final design. I had a lot of fun with this process for this project.

For the last four years, few hours, my I’ve been having remaining friends and I birthday parties at my spent close to two house with my friends. hours discussing which We usually run around teachers could win in a the neighborhood, do a 1v1 fight against each number of activities my other; it was a very mom plans out, and serious matter. other fun ways to pass the time.

Omkar went home after we finished our bracket I wasn’t really planning for this discussion, and on having a birthday a little bit later, so did over to my house and for two hours the party this year, but my Paulo. Paulo left via he was a little too next day though. mom asked if I wanted Uber, but the driver’s fascinated by these Icee to do something this profile photo on the popsicles we had in the I had a lot of fun year and told her that I app was this man biting freezer and he couldn’t spending time with inflate a my friends and did. She ended up his lip, so we worried properly placing an order for a that Paulo would be whoopee cushion. My family on this day. I karaoke machine and I abducted. He was not, friends and I kept almost lost my voice screaming worked on a guest list. fortunately, but he was laughing hysterically at from A week or so passed by exposed to the driver’s fart noises for the during karaoke and I and it was the day of bacon fume-ridden car. whole time we were at woke up super tired the party (we are so the morning after, the party. but it was all very After Paulo left, we told mature). worth it and I’d My friends and I spent Duc to walk over to my the whole day house, but he got lost in My brother’s friends gladly do it all again. screaming into the my neighborhood at 10 stayed the night after The people I’ve been karaoke microphones, p.m. Luc, Tuna, and I the party was over, so I surrounding myself playing tug-of-war with ran around the locked my bedroom with lately are all so my brother’s friends neighborhood to find door and went to sleep cool! (my friends and I won him, and we eventually relatively undisturbed.

I ended up taking a nap every time), and after a did. We dragged him

it’s party time!

my 17th birthday (ft. my friends!)

I’ve never had so much fun working on a magazine as much as I had while working on this issue. I made so many memories gathering material for this, whether it be from going to shows, spending time with my friends, recording new songs, and everything else I included in here. I am so grateful for all of the wonderful people I got to meet within the last five months and I can’t wait to make more memories!

I really want to thank all the people behind the Heart Destruct Music Festival, my family, and my best friends, as well as everyone else that made this magazine possible! There would be no CAL EAR & FRIENDS without friends!

thank you!

I hope you enjoyed reading this issue of CAL EAR & FRIENDS! Your support means the world to me and I hope you stick around for future issues :)