Music has always been a big part of Baldwin high school’s culture, whether it’s a band playing at a football game, or students making their own homemade band.
“I started my music career in late 2023, when I got my first electric guitar for Christmas,” said Lawrence Jenkins, a junior at Baldwin High School, who plays guitar for his own band.
Jenkins started his band in November 2024, after Jenkins’ friend, Kaylee, asked him if he wanted to start a band with her and Raynor, their former drummer.
“It was crazy, y’know, stage diving, shirts off,” Jenkins said about his first and only gig at his little brother’s birthday party, who was 11 at the time.
Jenkins’ band is more for fun than fame, and he really enjoys being in the music environment. He also mainly enjoys being able to hang out with his friends while doing something he is passionate about.
“Honestly, it’s just a fun environment to be around, and I advise that everyone should at least try it once,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins band practices often but are not booked often, so they have gotten creative with their practice.
“I believe that we are always getting better with new experiments and practices,” Jenkins said.
The band is mainly for fun because of the band members’ friendships. They try to make their practices not only for practice but also for fun.
“It’s positive energy, and we are all friends, so it’s just a bunch of friends hanging around,” Jenkins said.
The band is currently not doing any gigs soon, but they are on the search for one, but the more time they have to practice, the better their next gig will be.
“Not currently, because we don’t have any [gigs] planned out,” Jenkins said, “but we would like some. It would be nice.”
Jenkins and his band don’t plan on making any money at all but would gladly get into music as a job instead of a hobby. The band still tries their best even without earning money, because it is their passion, not their job.
“If it all works out, I do hope to make some money off of it,” Jenkins said. “Even if it’s just a couple of cents, that’d be cool to say, ‘Hey, I’ve made money off of this.’ and talk about my earnings.”