Carousel Article
From: Carousel Magazine For The Arts, 1998 Edition, entitled "Hello Fish, How Are You?: From Second Nature's new album 'Find Your Own Way Home.' Second Nature is one among the few bands at Robinson High to have recorded their second album."Hello Fish. How are you? The angelic snowfall is just starting to cling to the grass in Damascus, Maryland. A lone recording studio sits atop a freshly blanketed hill, and strands of music begin to leak through the windows to the frozen world outside. Eugene Jung is inside, holding a black bass guitar and wearing a pair of bulky headphones. He is in the process of recording the bass track to a song he created named "F-sharp." The Robinson-based band Second Nature is in the middle of reaching an impressive feat by a high school group: they're making a CD.
Second Nature comes from the rich musical scene that has always been present at Robinson, from old bands such as Giant Cardboard Dinosaurs to newer ones like Princessed. Second Nature recorded their CD over the 97-98 winter break, and this being their second album, the band has evolved and learned from their previous effort, "Grasscatcher."
"They play very refreshing and original music," Rolling Hills' Recording Studio guru Greg Snider said. Greg and his brother, Don, recorded the new CD, "Find Your Own Way Home." The seven songs on the amazing new album range from the heavy-driven "Third" to the acoustic-rendered "Uncle Charlie's Song." The album finishes with a hilarious eighth track, consisting of a conversation between the band's brothers, David and Andrew Werner, and their former technical education teacher Mr. Pongpun Punhong.
Second Nature is made up of three seniors, Don Simpson, Eugene Jung, and David Werner, as well as junior Andrew Werner. No single member takes claim to the band's small-scale success; instead they say everyone plays an equally important role.
"We're not focused on making money," said David, the lead singer, "and truthfully, we wouldn't be on any level of success. We're just having a lot of fun playing our own music and enjoying what we have." David also plays some guitar and keyboard on the new album.
"I like jamming every week," don, the main guitarist, said. "We all get along well. Well, we do make fun of Eugene, but that's understandable."
Eugene was the last addition to the band, but in his own words, he's also the "coolest." Eugene remains the only band member to sleep in on recording sessions for both the first and second albums. In addition to the bass, Eugene also plays cello in one of the new songs.
Andrew rounds out the group with his drums, following in the jazz tradition of 1997 Drummer of the Year, Carter Beauford. His drumming is unmatched at Robinson, and the new album only re-enforces that. He is often found listening to professional albums in his basement and drumming along to their beats.
"I hate all the stupid mechanical drum stuff that people are listening to now," Andrew admitted. "There's no work there; it's just pressing buttons on a machine. Call me crazy, but I listen to 'Smooth Jazz 105.9' on the radio all the time. That's where the action is."
Maybe the wording of this interview isn't bringing out the craziness and excitement Second Nature really generates. Their many live performances, including Ram Jam 1997, continue to be more and more exciting.
"We have a video tape of our first live show at a birthday party," Eugene laughed. "We all just stood around looking at the ground. Now we're focusing on everyone having a good time and getting the tunes out to the kids as well as we can play them."
The band practices in the Werner brothers' basement, an unfinished masterpiece with poster-covered walls and a magic-marker colored cardboard floor. Add to that a ceiling with plastic dinosaurs, road signs, and a strobe light hanging from the steel cross-braces and the jamming headquarters is complete.
The influences on the band are wide in variety, including Phish, They Might Be Giants, and Dave Matthews Band. Take note that all the aforementioned bands have their own unique styles and are not simply following a set musical formula. That's what Second Nature is out to do: break musical rules.
"We didn't like the transitions in 'F-Sharp', so we just got rid of them," Don said. "There's some Korean in 'Third' and steel drums in 'Navigator'. Each song has its own sound and mood."
The CD is available through any of the band members or through their homepage (2n.homepage.com) on the internet for \$10. The price barely covers the expenses it took to go through the entire process of creating a quality CD. The reactions from listeners have been full of praises.
With college approaching for the three senior members, Second Nature's future is up in the air.
"We're going to stay together as friends at the very least," David summed up. "There are plenty of jams left, but we made the CD to top off our work in high school. It's been a lot of fun, and I know all of us want music to remain in our lives for a long time."
Whatever the future brings, Robinson has been lucky to have Second Nature walk through its doors, along with all the other great musicians in the school.
Back at the beginning scene, the snow continues to srop and Andrew is laying down a track of bongos for the last song on the album.
"I wanna make a snowman," he says. "Last year Don and I made a guy named Smiling Eugena with a snow body and cheese eyes. The birds ate the eyes. Eugene got mad and knocked it down. It's those precious moments I hold so dear to my heart. We have so much fun."
(Extra Note: Want to know a little story behind this interview? The guys knew the editor-in-chief for this annual magazine, Carousel, so they knew they had an easy interview. Unfortunately, the supposed interviewer was not on best terms with Andrew and there was a little tension there. So the above interview was actually written by Dave. All those quotes are made up. Pretty convincing, huh?)
