As a few gather around him every Wednesday before and after school, he sings and strums on his guitar. Senior Sean Crawford’s music can be heard echoing throughout campus. 

     “I really started getting into music back in middle school at Frankford,” Crawford said. “My band teacher showed me all the instruments for band. I said ‘I wanna play the tuba.’ So that was the first instrument I learned. I got into playing guitar after my uncle showed me this video of an old Led Zeppelin concert. I watched Jimmy Page do his thing and I was like ‘I want to do that one day.’” 

     Crawford began bringing his guitar to school after joining Guitar Club last year, and has been doing so ever since. He said that even though many people would approach him in a negative way whenever he was playing, he would keep his eyes on his guitar and avoid their remarks. The harassment was mostly last year and nowadays Crawford said he does not notice if anyone is telling him to stop.

     “Playing guitar has made my life easier and a lot more fun too,” Crawford said. “Over the summer I got to play for this gig, and ended up opening for The Bangles, a really big all-girl band from the ‘80s, I played in front of hundreds of people. It was amazing to have everyone cheer me on.”

     He said that playing guitar requires a lot of work and patience, especially since he wants to improve and write music on a daily basis. He also said that he never lets writing and practice get in the way of his schoolwork.

     “Right now I’m only bringing my guitar on Wednesdays to get my grades up, but I’m going to start bringing it more often during the week,” Crawford said.

     Crawford doesn’t always play alone – sometimes he and other players will all play together.

     “I think it’s fun,” Crawford said. “It gives me a chance to meet guys that I didn’t know that play together. The only problem is that whenever they want to jam with me when I’m ‘in my zone’, I’m like ‘not now, I’m doing my thing.’” 

     Crawford said that after high school he plans on moving to Memphis, going to college and working at a guitar store. 

     “I want to make guitars and sell them,” Crawford said. “But being on stage one day in front of hundreds of people would be nice too.”