31 October 2016

Low Tides and High Vibes: A Wild Show from This Wild Life
This Wild Life

Abigail Unger

Cambridge, MA. October 5, 2016.

For as long as I can remember, Ive worked hard to get good grades in school, and, for as
long as I can remember, doing so has been incredibly stressful at times. Of course, since Ive started
college, the stress has multiplied. After all, good grades are necessary for scholarships, successful
resumes, internships, and a competitive edge in the job market upon graduation. Yikes! This
mounting pressure to perform can be unhealthy. Unfortunately, stress cant be cured with a simple
shot or antibiotic, but there are methods to reduce it. Research has shown that the brain synchronizes
with music at around sixty beats per minute and produces alpha brainwaves. These waves are the
same ones produced when an individual is awake and relaxed, as explained in Jane Collingwoods
PsychCentral article The Power of Music to Reduce Stress. By listening to calming music, a
person will feel more relaxed, and, thus, will be have increased ability to maintain focus, knowledge
retention, and general well-being. This finding is especially useful to college students, who are
constantly under pressure to perform well in school. While Netflix is readily available whenever a
student needs an escape from studying (or wants to procrastinate for a while by binge-watching
thirteen episodes of The Office), there exists an alternative and possibly more effective form of
stress relief in music.

Abigail Unger

The anticipation builds in the crowd when This Wild Lifes drum set is brought on stage.

The benefits of music are amplified during live performances, as I experienced when seeing
acoustic pop punk band This Wild Life perform at The Middle East Downstairs in Cambridge. The
two-person band, comprised of lead singer and guitarist, Kevin Jordan, and guitar and back-up
vocalist, Anthony Del Grosso, performed for 400 of their dedicated fans on October 5, 2016 as part
of their Low Tides tour, promoting their newly released album of the same name. The California-

1. Cecelia Musselman. ENGW 1111. MLA Formatting. 2395 Words.

born duos music can be described as raw and mellow with soulful lyrics about heartbreak, life, and
love.
Ive always been a huge music fan and love getting the chance to see my favorite bands
perform in person. Theres a rush of adrenaline that comes with seeing people Ive only watched
through a computer or TV screen and hearing them play the songs I belt out in the car or dance
around to in my room. The atmosphere created by being packed into a small space with hundreds of
other people who love the same thing I do is incomparable. As This Wild Life took the stage, I felt
adrenaline begin to course through my body, and my other thoughts and stress began to melt away.
The band opened with the energizing Pull Me Out, and a crowd-surfers foot nearly missed my
head as I joined my friend in pushing our way to the front of the rowdy crowd. This Wild Life kept
us shouting and singing on a journey from older classics to newer hits and back to signature songs.
By the end of the set, not a single voice wasnt hoarse from screaming Jordans lyrics as we jumped
and swayed to the beat in unison. By the second track of the 13 song setlist, I was paying no
attention to the minor annoyances that had been bothering me ten minutes agothe small, cramped
room, the thick, heavy air, and the dreadful list of things I had to do the next day. For that moment, I
was just another young adult in the crowd enjoying the music and singing my heart out to my
favorite songs. This therapeutic escape from everyday life and stress was just what I needed after
spending the day frantically preparing for my Calculus midterm.
Jordan and Del Grosso officially formed This Wild Life in 2010, but prior to the bands
debut, the two were performing together as a punk act called The Messenger in their hometown of
Long Beach, CA. However, after realizing their fans were gravitating to their acoustic works, they
formed This Wild Life and developed their current acoustic pop punk sound. Based on their differing
styles, punk and pop would often be described as polar opposites within the music world. Yet, the
two genres have fused to form a type of music known as pop punk, which is rooted in punk rocks
tempo, power chords, and loud edgy electric guitars and drums but incorporates the catchy melodies
of pop music. However, the attitudes and lyrics behind pop punk, including the acoustic genre
adaptation This Wild Life is known for, mostly stem from punks social and historical development.
Punk rock, to me, it meant that you could express yourself without limitations of skill or
money or connections. You could express yourself by your will and your talent, Dave Tree, Boston
artist, musician, and cinematographer claims in local radio station WBUR 90.9s A Brief History
Of Boston Punk Rock In 18 Vintage Photos. This idea of free expression and rebellion against
societys standards is the basis for the beginnings of punk rocka term which originated to
describe garage bands of the 60s. These bands, such as the Sonics and The Kingsmen, were not
trained musically, so they resorted to creating their own musical rules and style. Punk soon began to
take over the underground music scene as a musical and cultural phenomenon, or, as Ian Youngs
puts it in BBC Newss 2002 article A Brief History of Punk Rock, More and more young
disillusioned white teenagers were looking for an escape from the boredom and constraints of
society, with unemployment, racial tensions and social upheaval providing fuel for their fires.
These attitudes of energetic escapism and counter-conformity are some of the most
prominent parts of modern punk and have translated into the atmosphere of pop punk shows. When I
first discovered This Wild Life, I questioned their classification as pop punk due to their largely
acoustic playing style. However, after experiencing their live show, I no longer doubted the bands
punk influence. A majority of the attendees rocked staple pop punk outfitsblack ripped skinny
jeans, beanies, and Converse/Vanswhile jumping around or surfing the crowd. Like true punkrockers, the band members themselves showed off their tattoo sleeves and didnt shy away from

profanity while yelling and jumping with the crowd. The stench of sweat filling the low-lit, packed
room and energy buzzing among the fans reminded me of other pop punk concerts Ive attended like
Blink-182 and The Wonder Years. This Wild Lifes music itself may not be as wild as their name
implies, but their show definitely was.

Rachel Lipson

Kevin Jordan (left) and Anthony Del Grosso (right) give an energetic, soulful performance at
the Middle East Downstairs.

It wasnt until 1976 that punk as its known today was dredged up from the underground
scene in New York, popularized by bands like The Sex Pistols and The Ramones. From there, punk
began to diverge into and influence a number of sub-genres, including the acoustic pop punk of This
Wild Life. The pop influence over certain punk rock bands can be traced back to the mid 1970s, but
it wasnt until the 1980s that true pop punk began to emerge in the music industry when bands such
as The Descendants, Social Distortion, and Dag Nasty melded punk with pop music to create a new
genre of faster, upbeat pop punk, explains Megan Bartelt in her Academic.mu.edu essay "No
Future: The Conception and Evolution of Punk Music and Culture in the United States and Great
Britain from 1965 to the Present." The new fusion genre soon began to spread as bands such as
Green Day and Blink-182 emerged onto the scene in the late 1980s/early 1990s. These bands are
often credited as the founders of contemporary pop punk. Influenced by these earlier bands, many
other pop punk bands began to form and develop a following. One of such bands is This Wild Life,
who cite some of the aforementioned founding pop punk bands as their influences.
However, despite its fairly recent surge in popularity, there exists a number of criticisms
revolving around pop punk music and the culture it entails. According to Luke Morgan Britton of
NME, in an interview with Kerrang! Magazine Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer of Green Day,
criticizes the genres title saying, I come from a scene where every band was different from the
others; it was all so diverse. No two bands sounded the same. No-one was jumping on one particular
sound. We were all different [] and now we have pop-punk. And I hate that phrase. It lacks
diversity. Armstrong offers a valid point. With modern pop punk bands attempting to relate to their

young audience through high energy music and lyrics often centered on ideas like heartbreak, a
number of commonalities can be found in each bands music. Many of the bands of this genre that I
listen to feature common rhythms, guitar riffs, and themes. Yet, this lack of originality isnt
constrained to pop punk music. Dont most pop songs and most rock songs share common elements?
These similarities are what define a genrea category characterized by similar forms, styles, or
subject matter.
Bands that do incorporate diversity are considered to be genre-defying. My heart is heavy
and it keeps me to the ground. My eyes are swollen cause I cant have you around. All ripped away
from me. I cant be anything you want me to be, sings Jordan of This Wild Life. While the bands
music does include some of the same lyrical themes and catchy melodies as the bands Armstrong
criticizes for lack of diversity, This Wild Life adds a new layer to pop punk with their largely
acoustic style. They also draw inspiration from artists of genres outside the pop punk scene. Sara
Bareilles is one of my favorites. Maybe people wouldnt expect that. Or maybe they would, Jordan
shared in an interview with Danielle Voss of Girlfriend Magazine.
While teens and young adults only make up a minority of the music industrys consumers, a
large amount of new music is marketed towards this younger demographic. Why doesnt the
recording industry focus on the 45+ age group, which, in a Consumer Trends survey by
the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), was reported to be the largest album buying
consumer audience? Well, who hasnt heard a crotchety adult claim something along the lines of,
Music was so much better in the old days? Teens are much more receptive to new music trends, so
new artists and record companies direct their attention toward young adults. Thus, this age group has
a large amount of control over the rising and falling popularities of certain bands and styles. Many
bands try to appeal to this under-age-thirty clientele by incorporating relatable lyrics into their
music. Unlike the hip-hop acts and rappers who attempt to do this through references to drugs,
alcohol, and sex, pop punk bands, such as This Wild Life, tend to focus on personal issues addressed
in sincere lyrics. Kevin Jordan highlights his relationship struggles in most of the bands
discography while also touching on more serious personal matters, such as his mothers fight with
cancer in No More Bad Days or growing up in a single-parent home in Pink Tie. Jordans raw,
soulful performances of these songs are one of the driving factors in This Wild Lifes growing
success and are what first drew me to the band.
The Boston area is one of the largest college regions in the US, with 81 universities within a
25-mile radius of the city, including the worlds largest contemporary school of music at Berklee
College of Music. For this reason, Bostons thriving music scene is constantly changing and
growing, influence by the hundreds of thousands of young adults in the area. These schools offer not
only a large population of students, but with music organizations like Northeastern Universitys
Green Line Records production label and Boston Universitys WTBU radio, Boston area schools
play a large role in discovering and promoting new talent in the music industry. Thus, local bands
have a number of opportunities for growth, while larger, more well-known bands can expand their
fan-bases in unique venues like Out of the Blue Too: Art Gallery & More, The Middle East, the
Sinclair, and Wallys Caf. The Middle East Downstairs hosted This Wild Lifes recent Boston
show. The small size of the venue added a more personal vibe to the show, allowing fans to connect
with the band and other fans. Jordan even came out after the show to meet fans and sign autographs
(I was lucky enough to get a picture!). This connection between band and audience is a huge factor
in the growth of a fan-base. Often in alternative music bands are criticized for going mainstream

and selling out as they rise in popularity. However, when fans feel they have a relationship with a
band, theyre less likely to lose interest as the band grows.

Abigail Unger

Kevin Jordan (right) came out after the show, and took
a picture with me (left)!

Not only are the relations formed through music important on a fan/artist basis, but music is a
medium which connects people of all backgrounds. At a concert, I find it fairly easy to make friends
because everyone in the room shares a common interest. Music has been used as a symbol of
unification throughout history, from The Star Spangled Banner representing America as a whole or
military march songs to foster unity and nationalism in soldiers. This Wild Lifes show was no
different as the crowd shouted along with the band, I'm bound to break if I stay the same. With all
my weight I will force a change, cause in my skin is the sunlight, and in my heart there is still a
fight, an obvious energy and feeling of unity filled the room. Music is powerful medium which is
amplified in strength during live performances.

Acknowledgements
Thank you to Fatemah Hassanali, Jahaan Saini, and Cecelia Musselman for editing my work and
discussing ideas with me. Thanks also to This Wild Life for an awesome show and to The Middle
East Downstairs for hosting such a great band.