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Students ready to take Timmins to the school of rock

Timmins High's band is back on stage and gearing up for a concert this weekend

TIMMINS - The twang of an electric guitar and the boom of a drum kit are echoing through the halls of a local high school.

Timmins High and Vocational School students are rehearsing daily for their big show on Saturday, Jan. 18, getting ready to show the city what their band — The Headframes — can do.

“We’re trying to build up the program,” said music teacher Curtis Clemence. “The kids are sounding pretty good right now, and I’m excited that we get to start something new and rebrand it.”

The return of the music program at TH&VS has been a slow process since the pandemic and the departure of Barry Promane, who was instrumental in forming Sonic Democracy, the forerunner to The Headframes.

“It was the flagship music program in the city, and then COVID happened,” said Clemence. “During those first few years, no music was happening, and then in 2023, things are loosening up and we can start singing and playing music again and I had to learn how to do all this.”

The students are practising a set of classic rock, pop and country music. Clemence challenges the students by giving them two songs to play on the set list, but the rest is student-led.

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Shreya Gautam is rocking her ukelele skills with the Headframes at Timmins High. Amanda Rabski-McColl/TimminsToday

At Tuesday’s rehearsal of a rendition of The Beatles’ song Something, which includes a ukulele, the students voiced their needs for harmonies and sound levels, demonstrating many of the technical skills they’ve gained.

The classic song wasn’t something the students were familiar with.

“I grew up listening to a bit of the Beatles, more of their popular songs, I didn’t know this song,” said Shreya Gautam who is singing lead on Something. “Mr. Clemence suggested it because he’s a huge Beatles fan.”

Both of her sisters had played ukulele. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she wanted to pick up an instrument, and it was a natural fit.

“I enjoy it as a hobby,” she said.

Music is a family affair for Sonya Jones, who’s been playing piano since she was four.

“All my older siblings are into music, my sister was a musical theatre major, my brother was in a couple bands,” she said. “It’s a very big thing in our family.”

The Grade 12 student said switching from classical music to more rock and pop was fun.

“In classical, a lot of the theory stuff is chords, so you do a lot of that anyway in theory, so it was just learning the variations of dominant chords and such,” she said.

The technical and marketing parts of the music industry are a part of the lessons, too.

“It’s about making it sound the best you can, and it’s not intuitive, so you really have to know what you’re doing,” he said. “Playing the instrument and being proficient in your craft, but also knowing how to set up a PA system so you sound good, and stage presence, the performance aspect, there’s a lot to it!” 

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The Headframes and their teacher Curtis Clemence are ready to show Timmins what they can do at their concert on Jan. 18. Amanda Rabski-McColl/TimminsToday

Grade 12 student Tara Kiani manages the band's social media and media contacts.

“I want to be a journalist,” she said. “I’ve been in music classes since tenth grade, so Mr. Clemence saw that I was responsible enough so he trusted me to manage the social media and our Instagram account.”

For her, it feels like she’s experiencing another side of the music industry.

“It’s been cool being able to reach out to the media and use things that I see on social media and incorporate that into marketing for our band,” she said. 

The Headframes show is at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18  at Timmins High. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults, and students in Grade 8 and under are free.