It made me

Excited

How I did it: I started playing guitar in the February of 2008 when I was 13. I would spend 3 hours a day playing the same chord over and over again until I got it clean. After that, I learned simple electric guitar techniques like palm muting and alternate picking. I began learning my favorite Flyleaf songs. About a month or two later, I knew a lot of open chords and simple rock songs (Smells Like Teen Spirit, anyone?). I also sang...very badly, but people never told me to be quiet so I kept singing until I got a lot better. My good friend also sang with me, harmonizing pseudo-angelically over my more powerful voice. We would sing Stay by U2 and Unwell by Matchbox 20 outside of our middle school. After watching a Boyce Avenue video, I recruited my little brother, who was nine at the time, to play the cajon with us. For those who don't know, the cajon is a spanish box drum that can get a bass and snare sound. It's great if you can't afford or don't have room for a drumset. Anyway, my little brother was a natural drummer and he really added dynamic to our songs. In my freshman year of high school, we sang our first original song, Echo Echo (which I wrote in the middle of English class), at the annual Brad Schoener Music Marathon. To my surprise, people actually liked us. Fast-forwarding a year or so, we got a like-minded bass player and began to really rock out. We're writing more songs, playing more gigs, and recording stuff. It's hard with school and other responsibilities, but it works out. We are actually looking for a lead electric player, so if anyone in the Philadelphia area is interested? Anyhow, check us out at www.theaftermomentmusic.com or search 'The After Moment' on Facebook.  Read how I did it… 6 months ago