Gedia has participated in local music events like Camp Amped, located at Nuci’s Space, where he collaborated with other young musicians.
By LUCIA BERMUDEZ – Print Staff Writer
Senior Gedia Powell speaks about his experience with music and the role it has played in his life.
If you want music to be your livelihood, then play, play, play and play! And eventually you’ll get to where you want to be,” Eddie Van Halen said.
This is the motto that senior Gedia Powell models his life after.
Gedia began exploring his interest in music at a young age. By late elementary school, Gedia was already developing a passion for music, specifically rock and punk rock, a passion that inspired him to learn how to play his first instrument, the guitar.
“I started playing guitar in fourth grade. I was just like into those ‘starter bands’ as I like to call them now,” Gedia said. “I first started listening to like Nirvana, AC/DC and Green Day. So I wanted to learn (songs) like the stuff I was listening to.”
As he showed more interest in music, Gedia realized that guitar was something he seriously wanted to pursue, and his mother supported him in this undertaking.
“My mom got me lessons, and I took lessons for maybe about three or four months. My mom played a lot of instruments, so I guess it kind of rubbed off on me. She knew that I was getting into rock music, so she funded that,” Gedia said.
As Gedia continued to explore music, he started writing songs.
“I started writing (in) about sixth or seventh grade, and they were just really simple songs. I started writing music, for the guitar really. I never wrote lyrics. It was always hard for me to just write stuff because I feel like you have to hear something first,” Gedia said.
Along with songwriting, Gedia also started composing music.
“You gotta have some inspiration, whether it be like an intro or a riff,” Gedia said. “You gotta hear something before you start writing. I have to have my guitar in my hand to start writing. Weezer and Green Day were my favorite bands at the time (that I began writing songs) so I was influenced by them heavily, their fast pace, their style of music.”
Eventually, Gedia decided that he wanted to start his own band, so he got together with friends to make his songs come to life.
“(My band) was called Death of the Peanut King. It was really different because it kind of dawned at the time that I was really discovering what I could do with music,” Gedia said. “I was using my musical sense, I was writing music, I was writing different parts and melodies and things of that nature. It kind of made me, in my head of course, a musical expert. I know what to listen for and I know what is appealing to the ear.”
Gedia’s musical career transitioned into a serious endeavour when he joined an after-school program for young musicians.
“A lot of people know about Camp Amped at Nuçi’s Space; I was a part of the first session of after school they had. We started in 2009. I just went on this writing frenzy; I wrote a lot of songs that year,” Gedia said. “Nuci’s Space is one of the things that catapulted me into being in bands and going into like garage band culture, that kind of thing. It was sort of like my catalyst,” Gedia said.
Camp Amped provided Gedia with resources and inspiration that year, especially that summer, when Gedia found his love for public performance.
“2009. Second session. Camp Amped. Nuçi’s Space. I had never been on stage performing, singing, or playing guitar. The first time I performed on stage I wasn’t nervous, because I don’t really get nervous like that, but it moved by so fast, that’s what was the sad thing,” Gedia said.
“It was awesome. Everybody was so responsive to you, and I learned that even if they’re not responsive, you still have to kind of dictate the energy of the show. You have to make it fun.”
Because of his experience with Camp Amped, Gedia’s band gained more exposure and began to play gigs at various venues.
“We played everywhere. We played the Melting Point twice, and we played at the cherry blossom festival a few times in Macon. My favorite show that we ever played was at the Atlanta Symphony Hall for this talent show. It was the biggest place we’d ever played and it sounded so good,” Gedia said.
As they got older however, the band members started pursuing separate interests and dispersed around late tenth grade. Although his band Death of the Peanut King became less prominent in Gedia’s life, music continued to play an important role. However, obstacles emerged that kept his attention divided.
“In eleventh grade, I got employed. I did not march in the marching band. I got employed by Bojangles, so (I spent) the entire summer before and all of eleventh grade working,” Gedia said.
As a senior, Gedia continues to work, now as an employee at Chuck-E-Cheese. He is also active in CCHS’s music programs and continues to play various instruments.
“I’m in band, both band classes and orchestra, so I play (music) almost every day. (I’m in both band classes) because I wanted to learn how to play a different instrument. I played percussion in normal symphonic band, so I wanted to learn how to play a wind instrument,” Gedia said.
Orchestra director Eunice Kang says she enjoys Gedia’s personality and his enthusiasm towards music and learning.
“He’s a fantastic team player in orchestra. I think he brings the mood up for everyone by his personality,” Kang said. “He’s a very meticulous musician and passionate about music. It’s such a joy to have him in class. I just think he’s a great leader and a role model for the other students with his attitude, and I’m so glad he’s in orchestra as well as band.”
In addition to being in orchestra and two band classes, Gedia also interns at a radio station during the week, which appeals to his interest in the larger music industry.
“I want to go into broadcast journalism, so being on the radio. I want my own network one day, kind of like what Oprah does, (but) maybe on a philanthropic level, where I’m giving away stuff,” Gedia said.
While Gedia says he doesn’t know exactly what his future holds, he knows music will contribute a very big piece of the puzzle.
“My biggest dream is breaking people, like breaking artists and making them big, and having my own music recorded,” Gedia said. “ I’ve always had those thoughts and dreams of doing that. That would be something that would be like a dream come true.”
Music has been prominent in Gedia’s upbringing, and he says it will continue to be throughout his life.
“Anybody can play all day, but if you perform it well, then you’re good. If you are engaging, if you’re having fun, if you’re going incredibly hard,” Gedia said. “But yeah my first time, it was really fun and when I was performing, I was like, ‘Yeah, this is something I want to do for a really long time.’”
