Eva's Ethnography Extravaganza

"House of Awesome": A Wrock Ethnography

2007-12-13T06:54:00.001-08:00

Part 1: “Of course there is a community, are you kidding me.”

“When people ask us what our favorite type of music is

We’re not embarrassed, but really proud to say

WIZARD ROCK!

So let’s sing along to all the songs and find a place where we belong…”

The Butterbeer Experience, “Wrock Rocks”

The Butterbeer Experience, otherwise known as Lena Gabrielle, is a wrock or wizard rock musician, a genre I introduced here. She’s achieved some success in the wizard rock scene by using the Internet (she keeps a Myspace blog and even comments on the above Youtube video of her performance) to create a sense of connection between her and her fans. This idea of diminished boundaries between fans and performers is what fundamentally unites wrock as a scene.

For my ethnography, I primarily focused on the online components of the wrock scene, visiting message boards, fansites, and Myspace pages. I posted a survey to two of the message boards I studied, I LISTEN TO WIZARD ROCK! and the wrock Fan Discussion forum at the HP Alliance, and received 22 responses. All of my respondents said that they used the Internet to interact with other wrock fans and discover new wrock artists. For some, the Internet was their primary method of engaging with the wrock scene, as nine respondents had never attended a wrock concert and fourteen respondents had few or no wrock fan friends offline and communicated with other fans online. This online communication strengthens bonds between fans even when, as opposed to the Goth fans described in Hodkinson 2004, they are unwilling or unable to meet up with other fans in person.

The logo of the popular Wrock Myspace group

Even though wrock is a fairly small translocal scene, it is clearly experienced as a community by its members as reflected by my survey responses. One representative response to my survey question “Do you think that there is a Wizard Rock community?” was an incredulous “Of course there is a community, are you kidding me.” Dustin Kidd has discussed how Harry Potter fans in general are an interpretive community, and I’ve witnessed how wrock fans have formed a smaller culture within that community (Kidd 2007). Wrock is defined as a culture through the idea of shared values, especially DIY, which I’ll discuss more later in this post. It’s also a very self-referential scene—most of the wrock artists I’ve heard either make explicit references to the wrock scene in at least one song or have written songs entirely about wrock. By constantly mentioning wrock as a defined scene, it is reinforced in fans’ minds as one. Finally, the sense of community created online is frequently solidified through fans’ attendance and discussion of concerts, meetups, and conventions—one respondent even mentioned a wrock-themed cruise to Cozumel she’s looking forward to.

Apart from building the idea of a fan community, online communication helps fans feel more connected to artists. (Kibby 2000). Most bands have blogs and tour diaries on Myspace, prominent wrockers Matt Maggiacomo of the Whomping Willows and Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters have posted on the HP Alliance forums, and Lena Gabrielle entered into a dialogue with fans through a Youtube comment. This adds to the sense of a cohesive community scene in which fans and artists interact with and benefit from each other.

Part II: Punk Wrock

“We’re going to play some songs about sticking it to the man!... Are you ready to stick it to him?”

Harry and the Potters, intro to “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock”

The desire to break down fan/performer boundaries stems from punk, a scene that has greatly influenced wrock. Both punk and wrock musicians have endeavored to make their music accessible in as many ways as possible. In the above Harry and the Potters video, Paul DeGeorge joins and dances with the audience, a move reminiscent of punk stage dives. By removing the physical divide between himself and the audience, Paul has made the audience closer to both himself and his music.

Skinhead punks? Nope, just Draco and the Malfoys. (Courtesy of their Myspace)

Punk bands also typically released their music on DIY labels, a prominent feature of the wrock scene (Spencer 2005). Even the most successful wrock band, Harry and the Potters, still produces their albums on their own label. One prominent wrock organization, Matt Maggiacomo and Kate Aubin’s Cheap Rent, describes themselves on their Myspace as “not quite a record label, but also not quite not a record label. We form friendships with bands and we do our best to help them release and promote their music. We also encourage our bands to maintain DIY ethics so they never feel the need to sign with a corporate record label.” Matt sums it up in his “Why DIY?” treatise on the HP Alliance: “From what I’ve seen, wizard rock fans are the most outspoken advocates of DIY methodology…The unprecedented level of interaction between bands and fans is what makes wizard rock such a special community.”

Part III: Wrock, Fandom, and the Future

“I’m starting a new house, and it’s called Awesome.”

The Whomping Willows, “House of Awesome Theme Song”

Wrock is unique among music scenes in that it’s an aspect of a larger fandom, which this case includes Harry Potter fanfiction, fanart, and roleplaying. Its unprecedented status as both fandom and music culture is what truly makes wrock worthy of further study and ethnography. Almost all of my survey respondents said that they were also fans or producers of one or more Harry Potter fandom components besides wrock. Henry Jenkins describes fandom as a way of fitting mass culture to fans’ desires through producing and consuming fan creations that better serve their interests (Jenkins 2006). Wrock gives fans the opportunity to align themselves with two appealing youth scenes simultaneously—Harry Potter fandom and a musical subculture. As one survey respondent wrote as to why he’s a wrock fan, “The first [reason] is the music itself…the second is the fandom.”

In the case of wrock, however, it appears to me that “the music itself” as McClary defines it (everything but the words and context) is not primarily what draws fans to the scene (McClary 1994). Typically, wrock relies on simple, catchy melodies and minimal instrumentation. While Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys have some overtly punk-influenced music with loud guitars and snotty yelping (here’s the punkest wrock track I’ve heard so far, “Keeping Secrets From Me” by Harry and the Potters), in the rest of the scene there’s everything from the pop ballads of the Butterbeer Experience to the goth-industrial of the Sectumsempras. If wrock fans were primarily interested in hearing a certain variety of music such as goth or punk, they could find a wider variety and a generally higher quality of that music by directly exploring those scenes. While many wrock artists are very musically proficient, the same can’t be said for all of them—even Harry and the Potters sing out of tune on their albums more often than not. Wrock fans are Harry Potter fans first and foremost, and they’re willing to sacrifice some quality for music that reflects that.

A free compilation wrocking against media consolidation (courtesy of stopbigmedia.com)

The music itself isn’t entirely incidental to the wrock scene, however, as it provides a perfect forum for what Matt Hills calls the “affective play” of fans (Hills 2002). Music creates profound emotional effects and attachments, and the combination of music and fandom allows wrock fans to identify with the emotions and experiences of the Harry Potter books and of fandom itself on both intellectual and non-intellectual levels. In the video I posted at the beginning of this section, "House of Awesome Theme Song" from the album Welcome to the House of Awesome, Matt Maggiacomo tells the story of the Whomping Willow trying to gain admission to one of the houses of Hogwarts and being rejected for not being a wizard. Undaunted, he founds his own house that accepts all comers. While wrock fans aren’t wizards either, they still have a community where they can engage in both fandom play and music scene play and find acceptance through that.

While I wasn’t able to discuss it in this already unreasonably long post, I’m still interested in the prevalence of female fans in the wrock scene, the difference between fans and fangirls, and possible similarities between wrock and Riot Grrrl. I’m also fascinated to see what will happen to wrock now that the Harry Potter series is over. The power of wrock as both a music scene and an aspect of fandom will face a difficult test, but based on what I’ve seen I think that while wrock’s mainstream popularity may wane, its core community can hold its own for a while longer. As someone who participated in the fanfiction sector of Harry Potter fandom when I was younger, I maybe have a biased perspective, but I feel that the power and fun of the fandom on the whole and the strong impact wrock has had on its fans (see my third paragraph here) will inspire them to keep their scene alive for longer than might be expected, albeit with some changes. Now that fans and musicians have found the “place where we belong” that Lena describes, it should be difficult to give that up without a fight.

Bibliography:

Cheap Rent (anonymous staff member). n.d. “About Cheap Rent.” http://www.myspace.com/cheaprent

Hills, Matt. 2002. Fan Cultures. New York: Routledge.

Hodkinson 2004 (in Music Scenes)

Jenkins, Henry. 2006. Fans, Bloggers, and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. New York: New York University Press.

Kibby, Marjorie D. 2000. “Home on the page: a virtual place of music community” Popular Music 19(1)91-100.

Kidd, Dustin. 2007. "Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture." The Journal of Popular Culture 40(1):69-89.

Maggiacomo, Matt. 2007. “Why DIY?” http://thehpalliance.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=319

McClary 1994.

Spencer, Amy. 2005. DIY: The Rise of Lo-fi Culture. New York: Marion Boyars.

Survey responses! Yay!

2007-12-04T17:47:00.000-08:00

I posted a survey on the "I LISTEN TO WIZARD ROCK!" Facebook group a while back, and I recently received three responses that I'd like to post here.

Name: While it was in her Facebook post, she didn't post it directly in her survey response, so I'll call her "Ann" (not her real name) to be on the safe side.

Age (only if you want to provide it; you can also give me an estimate like “20s” or “teenager” if you’d like): 15

1. When and how did you become interested in Wizard Rock?
when i was like 12 ish... my harry potter obsessed friend invited me to yule ball 06.. i went and loved it. been obsessed ever since.

2. What about Wizard Rock appeals to you?
ive loved hp since 2nd grade... and i love music. wrock is the two combined. yay!

3. Have you been to any Wizard Rock concerts? If so, how many?
yule ball 06... and a library concert over the summer. id loveto go to so many more though...

4. Do you interact with other Wizard Rock fans? If so, where do you usually interact with them?
not to often... i guess only on myspace and facebook sometimes.

5. How do you learn about Wizard Rock bands and artists?
through myspace.

6. How frequently do you go to Wizard Rock-related websites? Which websites do you typically go to?
umm i listen to wrock on myspace pretty often..

7. Do you think that there is a Wizard Rock community? If so, how would you describe this community, and would you consider yourself to be a member of it?
uhh yeah i guess there is one.. and imjust a fan, so maybe a small part of the community.

8. Do you participate in or enjoy any other aspects of Harry Potter fan culture like fanfiction, fanart, or roleplaying?
no, not so much.

9. Are you a Wizard Rock musician or have you ever considered becoming one? If so, why?
yes. i think it would be sooo much fun. but i dont have enough musical talent or any hp loving friends with musical talent

10. How much of a Wizard Rock fan would you consider yourself to be?
uhh idk. :D but i totally love wr.

Name: Lauren.

Age (only if you want to provide it; you can also give me an estimate like “20s” or “teenager” if you’d like): 18.

1. When and how did you become interested in Wizard Rock?
I heard some Harry and the Potters on Myspace and got a bit interested for a while, but I let real life take over again (shameful, I know!!) and then I rediscovered it in late August this year, and I have been totally obsessed ever since.

2. What about Wizard Rock appeals to you?
Well I'm a hugely obsessive Harry Potter fan, and I love music. There isn't anything that better combines those two than wrock!

3. Have you been to any Wizard Rock concerts? If so, how many?
I went to Potter Rocks 07 in Birmingham. That was the first one, because there aren't many in the UK in general, and there aren't ANY in Scotland. But I loved it, and I'm totally up for any more.

4. Do you interact with other Wizard Rock fans? If so, where do you usually interact with them?
Myspace, Skype (The Great Skype Wrockfest!), Facebook (as of last night XD).

5. How do you learn about Wizard Rock bands and artists?
From Wizrocklopedia sometimes, from other fans mostly. Oh, and Myspace.

6. How frequently do you go to Wizard Rock-related websites? Which websites do you typically go to?
Wizrocklopedia, sometimes. Like maybe once a week on average or something. Realwizardrock.com...I love that site. About the same. Oh, and I've been listening to some PFW radio on Live365. Almost every day in fact. I love that I can recognise the artists even if I don't know the songs lol. Progress!

7. Do you think that there is a Wizard Rock community? If so, how would you describe this community, and would you consider yourself to be a member of it?
Oh, there totally is. But I'm still in the UK section of it. It's like, there is the whole community and those who are in all of it (like the famous american wrockers, HatP, DatM, The Moaning Myrtles etc.) and then there is the UK one, which kind of...well for me, anyway...is everyone just together, fans and artists. It's awesomesauce. I consider myself a part of it, yes. I hope other people don't go "No you're not!" now :P

8. Do you participate in or enjoy any other aspects of Harry Potter fan culture like fanfiction, fanart, or roleplaying?
I've been reading and writing fanfiction for nearly five years now. But that's it.

9. Are you a Wizard Rock musician or have you ever considered becoming one? If so, why?
I have written a lot of songs, but only lyrics not music...I kind of suck at music. So I'm working on that at the moment :) Right now I'm mostly being just a fan. That's a lot of fun :)

10. How much of a Wizard Rock fan would you consider yourself to be?
Pretty big. I got Jingle Spells in mid November and have been listening to it ever since, even though Christmas is still a month away. And I was considering flying over to the states for Wrockstock, but since it seems all my buddies are going to Terminus instead, that might change...

Name (this can be a pseudonym if you’d prefer): Laura

Age (only if you want to provide it; you can also give me an estimate like “20s” or “teenager” if you’d like): 17

1. When and how did you become interested in Wizard Rock?
When i first met my friend Tina (we became friends because we both love HP) she told me about a band she'd heard called Harry and the Potters. I heard one song and i became hooked, i then started looking around and finding new bands.

2. What about Wizard Rock appeals to you?
Well firstly it's a combination of Harry Potter and music, which is amazing, and also it's a great community of people, i've never had more fun then when i was at a wrock concert.

3. Have you been to any Wizard Rock concerts? If so, how many?
As i live in Canada, i don't get to go to too many, only when they come here, or if they're Canadian bands, but ive seen harry and the potters 3 times, and draco and the malfoys twice and i saw the remus lupins and the whomping willows when i was at Prophecy in the summer, that was a really good concert.

4. Do you interact with other Wizard Rock fans? If so, where do you usually interact with them?
Usually at concerts, and sometimes online.

5. How do you learn about Wizard Rock bands and artists?
Myspace.

6. How frequently do you go to Wizard Rock-related websites? Which websites do you typically go to?
Well i got to wizardrock.org a lot, they have a lot of great updates and stuff, and then i go on myspace to see bulletins that bands post.

7. Do you think that there is a Wizard Rock community? If so, how would you describe this community, and would you consider yourself to be a member of it?
There is definatly a community. I think it's one of the best parts, all the wizard rock bands and the fans are always interacting and partying together and i think that it's really great. It's an incredibly friendly community and i think that we all just instantly relate to one another because we all love harry potter and we all love music.

8. Do you participate in or enjoy any other aspects of Harry Potter fan culture like fanfiction, fanart, or roleplaying?
I've been reading fanfiction for a long time, but i've never written any as i don't think i have that kind of talent, i also go to HP conferences, which is a great way to be part of the HP fandom.

9. Are you a Wizard Rock musician or have you ever considered becoming one? If so, why?
Nope. I can't play any instruments.

10. How much of a Wizard Rock fan would you consider yourself to be?
A very big one. I like all wizard rock bands, simply because they're wizard rock bands.

Some early thoughts: They're all women in their mid-teens, which seems to apply to a large sector of the Wrock fanbase. They all agree that there's a Wrock community, even if they have different standards for membership and ideas of what membership means. They consider themselves to be big fans of Harry Potter in general, not just Wrock. While they have all been to Wrock concerts, Myspace and other Wrock websites have a huge influence on the appreciation of Wrock and participation in the Wrock scene. I've also posted this on the HP Alliance forums, so hopefully I'll get even more great responses!

More Fieldnotes!

2007-11-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

Note: All quotes from forum posts are [sic].

Because Wizard Rock is an unusually web-based scene, I’ve decided to focus my ethnography on the online Wrock community. As recommended to me by my commenters, I checked out the Wizard Rock forums at the HP Alliance (http://thehpalliance.org/). At the Fan Discussion forum (http://thehpalliance.org/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=22), one thread discusses good names for Wrock groups. Three posters say that while they would like to form bands, they’re not talented enough to do so, which suggests that there are some standards for talent in the Wizard Rock scene. One post suggests starting a rap group called the Hogwarts Homies. Poster Tonks22 says “I can’t rap…but maybe I can manage WRap?” to which poster Giant Squuidy responds with “Anything with that W in front of it is a whole different story! In the real rap world the Hogwarts Homies would be mocked for their lack of talent. but in the wrap world, they would be cherished!” Another poster said that she registered a Myspace account for a band she hasn’t started yet so that nobody would steal her name.

On a topic about The Remus Lupins, posters discuss the longevity of Wrock. They all agree that Wizard Rock will continue to be popular even though the Harry Potter series is over, though maybe not forever. Poster Nefret says “Wizard Rock is a lot like Dumbledore. It “will never be gone as long as were here” it’s “love is keeping us alive”” Giant Squuidy says “The fandom is totally something I’ll annoy my grandkids with. “Back in the day, we used to sing about BOOKS.”” While these fans accept that Wizard Rock may die out eventually as Harry Potter’s popularity wanes, they maintain that their affiliation with Wizard Rock will be a permanent part of their identities. There’s also a mention of how the The Remus Lupins had money and equipment stolen from their tour van. Fans are being encouraged to support the bands by buying their merchandise and donating money. After the theft, the website Wizardrock.org apparently donated half of what they made from selling merchandise to the band.

The thread “Wizard Rock stole my heart…Share your story!” discusses how fans learned about Wizard Rock and what it means to them. Two posters say that Harry and the Potters was their first Wizard Rock band, which makes sense as they have the most mainstream recognition out of any Wrock band, two posters say that they discovered Wizard Rock through online Harry Potter forums, and two posters specifically mention that they used Myspace pages to find new Wrock bands. Most of the posters include very passionate declarations about their connections to Wizard Rock: Phlogiston describes Wrock as “unprecedented love” and Gingeroot calls it “cathartic” and “love.” Nefret’s post reads “I was just talking about this today with someone, Wizard Rock has made me the person I am today. Because of Wizard Rock I am better able to deal with my anger management issues, I'm a more social person, I'm no longer afraid to sing in front of others, and I'm happy. Wizard Rock is one of the few things that is guaranteed to lift my mood. As cheesy as it sounds Wizard Rock has changed my life and made me a better person.” Dinahsaur, the original poster, says, “Now, four years after I first listened to Harry and the Potters, I am not just an avid Wrock Fan, I am an avid Wrock Fangirl... a very noble cause, in my opinion!” This distinction seems to imply a higher level of fandom, as the term “fangirl” usually applies to someone who is almost romantically devoted to a subculture. She also quotes the Whomping Willows song “Wizard Rock Heart Throb,” saying “As we know, wizard rock fans are the sweetest bunch of fans and most of them are girls” This raises a new question for me—to what extent is Wrock a “girl” genre?

The I.W.R.U. forum of the HP Alliance website (http://thehpalliance.org/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=44&sid=b0b8b34f0f61697264c7d8e125459b54) features posts from notable Wrock musicians Whompy (Matt Maggiacomo) of the Whomping Willows and Harry Potter Year 7 (Paul DeGeorge) of Harry and the Potters. Paul’s topic is “How to Book a Rock Show,” which strongly suggests playing in unconventional venues and having your own equipment for what Paul calls “DIY shows.” About getting paid for shows, he says “It’s okay to ask for money, and it’s also okay to play for free.” Matt has a very long post entitled “Why DIY?” in which he states that “Wizard rock is a rare example of a successful DIY movement.” He emphasizes the role of the Internet and Myspace in building the movement, and praises Wrock fans for not focusing on musical ability and being devoted to and participatory in the scene. He also says one extremely interesting thing about Wrock fans that I want to investigate more: “It’s rare that you’ll come across a wizard rock fan who believes himself or herself to be a “bigger” wizard rock fan than other fans. This is probably because wizard rock bands are extremely accessible to fans, and we show our appreciation to ALL of our fans on a consistent basis. Competition among fans is something that plagues virtually every music scene known to humankind – and yet, it’s almost non-existent in wizard rock.” Is this sentiment in opposition with Dinahsaur’s fan/fangirl distinction that I mentioned earlier? In support of DIY recording, he says that “What most bands don’t realize is that all labels, even the smallest indie labels, have some sort of an agenda.” He is optimistic about the power of Wrock DIY, saying that “If enough people sign on to this methodology, the end result could be a legitimate revolution that would shake up the music industry and (maybe) render corporate record labels an obsolete relic of the past.” He frequently reiterates that Wrock fans and musicians have very high levels or interaction, as well as established and new Wrock bands. Finally, Matt and Paul both post on a thread entitled “Self-releasing a CD.”

Fieldnotes

2007-10-15T18:45:00.001-07:00

For the first stage of my research, I've gathered some fieldnotes related to the online wizard rock community. While I do plan on attending at least one show and interviewing some scene members, because the online aspect of wizard rock is so important I felt that exploring that realm first would help me fundamentally understand the scene before I began to interact more directly with it.

Facebook Group: I LISTEN TO WIZARD ROCK!

http://brown.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204889485

The vast majority of discussion board participants are high school girls, though there are some young men and college students involved. There are members from Mexico, Norway, and Iceland. The group has 982 members, which is substantial for a Facebook group. There’s a conversation on the wall about whether or not wrock will become too mainstream after receiving MTV coverage. It’s important that the scene stay “unique.” Most discussion revolves around promoting and mentioning fans’ favorite bands. There are some posts on the board from a member of the Moaning Myrtles. It’s a badge of honor to have seen a lot of live wrock concerts. Some band names send up rock cliches: for example, The Butterbeer Experience and the N. Tonks Project.

Myspace Group: Wizard Rock

http://groups.myspace.com/wizardrock

In group description: “This is a temple of love, no hating allowed. Also, we do not tolerate intolerance!!” 2767 members—it seems like Myspace is more central to the wrock scene than Facebook, possibly because of all the Myspace band pages. Many of the groups also have supplemental Myspace pages with more music on them, which makes wizard rock extremely accessible to young fans without much disposable income. There’s a large thread devoted to new songs on Myspace. The “Favorite muggle musicians” (non-wrock artists) thread is interesting. Lots of hipster indie music, some metal, some 80s. Very little hip-hop and country, no mainstream pop. Overall white-identified semi-alternative feel. Once again, band members are involved in a wrock fan group, even more this time than in the Facebook group.

The Wizrocklopedia

http://wizrocklopedia.com

Some music reviews on the site, but they’re all entirely positive and without ratings. In these reviews, some tracks are described as very emotionally affecting—wizard rock isn’t all a joke. This website held a People’s Choice Awards for wrock—they received over 2000 votes for categories like “Best Holiday Song of 2006,” “Best Instrumental,” and “Best Rap.” Not having encountered wrock rap yet, I check out the Myspace page for the Best Rap winner, DJ Luna Lovegood (http://www.myspace.com/djlovegood). She lists influences like NWA, Black Sabbath, and The Velvet Underground, her sound and vocals are frequently reminiscent of shoegaze (she doesn’t appear to be mostly focused on rap), and the song “Under Your Nose Hermione” reminds me of Peaches. Disparate influences like these appear to be common to wrock artists—there isn’t really a shared idea of “the right influences” like in some genres, though it is standard to claim to be influenced by other wizard rock bands. Mostly other wrock bands on her comments section. The Sectumsempras, winner of the “Best Metal or Goth” award, take their name from a “bloody and violent spell” according to their Myspace (http://www.myspace.com/sectumsempras). Also from their blog: “They’d [The Sectumsempras] like to think they are the darkest maybe not musically, but lyrically within the Wizard Rock genre.” Their techno-goth song “Lamb to the Slaughter” fits this model, with lyrics like “You’re the lamb to be slaughtered for the greater good.” Even though Harry Potter is primarily intended as a children’s book, it has several dark themes and elements, and these themes are reflected in some sectors of its fan culture. I’ve specifically noticed this in fanfiction, which can be graphic and very much for adults and teenagers only. It seems to me like a diverse world like that of the Harry Potter books gives fans many options to identify with different characters and elements of that world, an identification that can then lead to production of fan art in various forms.

Some references

2007-10-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of the references I'll definitely be consulting for my ethnography:

Spencer, Amy. 2005. DIY: The Rise of Lo-fi Culture. New York: Marion Boyars.

Although this book doesn't directly pertain to wizard rock, I'm hoping that this source will give me a better understanding of the DIY culture that is central to wizard rock.

Kidd, Dustin. 2007. "Harry Potter and the Functions of Popular Culture." The Journal of Popular Culture 40(1):69-89.

This article discusses why Harry Potter fans create a community based on popular culture, the same community that produces wizard rock.

The Wizrocklopedia (anonymous staff member). n.d. "The History of Wizard Rock." http://wizrocklopedia.com/index.php/the-history-of-wizard-rock/

This article from a wizard rock fansite provides a comprehensive history of the genre and some insights from an anonymous scene member as to what the scene "stands for" and accomplishes.

I've also found plenty of fansites, Myspace pages, and mainstream media articles about wizard rock that will give me lots of material to draw from.

Wizard rock rocks

2007-09-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

The ethnography topic I'll be exploring in this blog is the wizard rock (also known as wrock) scene. Essentially, wizard rock is music with lyrics related to the world of Harry Potter. Wizard rock bands generally exclusively produce Harry Potter themed music, and often take on the personas of specific characters. For example, the two members of the popular wizard rock band Harry and the Potters perform as Harry Potter in his 4th year of Hogwarts and Harry Potter in his 7th year of Hogwarts. Other well-known wizard rock bands are the Whomping Willows, Draco and the Malfoys (who have a faux-rivalry with Harry and the Potters) and the Remus Lupins. Wizard rock's clever but typically PG-rated lyrics mostly appeal to kids and teenagers, while wizard rock musicians can be children but are generally teenagers and adults. Interestingly, wizard rock is perhaps the only music scene that frequently holds performances in libraries.

Here are some of the research questions I hope to explore over the course of this project:
-Why would an individual musician or group want to entirely focus on Harry Potter for lyrical subject matter? In other words, what is the appeal of the wizard rock scene for musicians?
-Similarly, what draws fans to the scene? Is it solely based on Harry Potter fandom, or are there other aspects of wizard rock that make it attractive to fans?
-How does the wizard rock community operate? What does it value?
-What is the relationship between wizard rock and other genres of music? Specifically, while wizard rock can be overtly influenced by genres ranging from metal to electronic, its deemphasis on musical proficiency and its DIY aspects seem to most strongly connect it to punk.

And now, as a slightly more interesting introduction to wizard rock, here's Harry and the Potters performing their song "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock" in a library.

Hi!

2007-09-17T10:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my research blog for Musical Youth Cultures! Now that I have a spiffy website, all I need is something to write about...