Last night, I went to watch my husband's band at a club in Seattle. I made sure to show up early to see the first opening band - something I rarely do - because I'd heard that they are a trio of seventeen year olds playing "stoner rock." Just call it research. That's what most of my life feels like these days! My protag, Seth, is a sixteen-year-old high school kid who plays with two different bands (rockabilly and pop/punk) in the course of my story. Most of the band details I write get run past my husband since he's been a drummer in a band since he was fifteen. It was cool to see that the stuff he's told me along with what I've been imagining and writing was dead-on there.
I've watched many bands live over the years, but I don't think I've ever seen musicians quite this young. Sometimes I forget just how young seventeen year olds really look, too. Maybe because most actors who play teenagers are in their twenties? It was helpful to witness it all for myself though. In the coming weeks I'll be writing Seth's one and only "on-screen" stage performance, so what I saw last night should prove helpful for that.