Hello magical friends, with a special hey hi hello to Celia, my newest magical patron, whose support lets me do these interviews!
Today’s interview is with a new friend that I think you’re going to love. It’s Head Boy!
Before we get to that, though, go vote on our Special Correspondent in the Field swag poll! I’m closing it at the end of the month so you’ve only got a couple more weeks to pick your pin. I’ve included a link to the poll in the transcript, so check that out while our first music plays. [link]
Here’s The Quaffle Kids with “The Common Welsh Green” to cheer our way!
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You just heard “The Common Welsh Green” from The Quaffle Kids, “Sever Us” by the Sorting Hat [lyrics], and Neville’s Diary with “Bad Teacher Boogie.”
“The Common Welsh Green” was a special request from my wonderful patron Geoff, who dedicates it to Courtney in thanks for all their hard work on WZRDFest. (Which you should all come to!)
Now let’s get to know our new friend!
Welcome to the show, Nick of HEADBOY! I’m so stoked to talk with you today.
Nick: I’m so excited to talk with you. Thank you for having me.
You are another one that’s been a little bit of an enigma to me. Like, I don’t think I see you around the discord a lot. I don’t know what’s going on with you, although I do know that we’re neighbors now, which is exciting.
Nick: Yes.
So, I want to know everything. Start at the beginning.
Nick: <laugh>. Okay. So, um, I first had a run in with wizard rock in college, which, I graduated in 2013, so, it’s been a little while since my undergrad. And, at the time I had joined the college quidditch team. I was a beater. I don’t mean to brag. I was kind of an MVP, um, <laugh>. And, and then I think just within that Harry Potter craze, I discovered wizard rock, and I discovered Swish and Flick, and specifically their song “Astoria Greengrass and the Pure Blood Prince,” which is my jam. If you have not heard that, people, listen to it. And so I, I’ve always had it in the back of my mind that wizard rock is cool and perhaps I’ll do it someday. And I went to school for music ed. I took a guitar class. Guitar is not my first instrument; voice is not my concentration, either. My main instrument is actually, can you guess? You get two guesses.
Is it a horn?
Nick: It’s a horn of sorts. Yes. You’re in the right track.
Of sorts? Because I think Totally Knut’s instrument was trumpet…
Nick: Okay.
But ‘of sorts’ makes me feel like not exactly right. So I’m gonna go bagpipe.
Nick: <laugh> I, I love the creativity. You were close with trumpet. Tuba. Eventually, I wanted to get into songwriting just as a hobby and write something for my voice and guitar. And I started writing what became Hufflepuff. And, um, it’s- wasn’t so much at the time wanting to do wizard rock, but that helped me find my voice, because I had several songs that I just hated and crumpled up and threw away. And eventually I just used Harry Potter as symbolism for what was going on in my life. And that’s when I was like, “okay, this is my thing.”
I’m a musical layperson. So this might not be true, but I feel like you don’t get a lot of tuba-forward music?
Nick: <laugh>
Like they tend to show up in like full orchestra things. Are we gonna get tuba music?
Nick: Oh goodness. <laugh> Probably not <laugh>, but you never know. I won’t rule it out of the realm of possibility.
I love that Swish and Flick was your first intro. And when you said, ‘specifically’, I was sure you were gonna say “Quidditch Witch.”
Nick: Ooh, okay. That would’ve-
Because you were playing quidditch.
Nick: -made more sense, right? <laugh>
Mm-hmm. And I love when folks have played quidditch come on, because the number one thing I know about quidditch is from fan fiction, uh, and the quidditch muscles.
Nick: Right.
So was that a, is that a thing with, uh, real life quidditch too?
Nick: I actually don’t know the quidditch muscles. Explain this to me. Teach me <laugh>
Usually, it’s just a character who plays quidditch and the character who admires ’em is like, “wow, they have those amazing muscles from playing quidditch”, usually thighs.
Nick: <laugh>
which are very impressive to admire through robes, now that I’m thinking about it.
Nick: <laugh> indeed. I have good thighs. That, that pans out. That, that makes sense.
Perfect. I love that that comes from fact to fiction. Now, your band name-
Nick: Mm-hmm.
-HEADBOY-
Nick: Mm-hmm.
-does make me think of, um… Oh no… Percy and the Prefects.
Nick: Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
But what made you pick it?
Nick: I had gone to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, of course, and that was actually my first time going. I needed something new for my Hogwarts uniform. I’m a Hufflepuff, obviously, and I decided to buy the head boy badge. Once I did that, I was like, “oh, band name.” I had already written a few songs by then, so, that just fell into place.
You didn’t consider anything else? BigHEAD BOY, maybe?
Nick: <laugh> I didn’t think too much into it. It felt natural. I did look up to see if anyone else was of that title. I like the idea of just a single, kind of like, well, it’s two words, but I put it together as one and, and it looks cool as all capital letters <laugh>. It just looked cool, sounded cool. I stuck with it.
Perfect, no agonizing.
Nick: <laugh> That’s right.
Now, I think I first remember seeing your music on TikTok.
Nick: Mm-hmm.
Is that where you posted all of it? ’cause you also have the album on Bandcamp.
Nick: Right. I did not post all of it on TikTok. I think it was really during COVID, or kind of right after COVID that I was playing around with TikTok, and it just never became a thing for me. But I do have my videos on Instagram. I’m a little more active on Instagram, and I’ll give that at the end. But, for my TikTok videos, I just have my partner look at TikTok and we have little TikTok watching parties every once in a while. So that’s my fulfillment of TikTok. But no, unfortunately, I don’t post anymore on there. If you wanna hear all my songs, then it’ll have to be Bandcamp.
Yeah, I find TikTok difficult as well, although I know some wizard rockers really enjoy the medium.
Nick: Mm.
And a lot of like, fanfiction/cosplay people thrive over there.
Nick: Nice. Yeah. I have to, I’ll have to ask you for some suggestions after.
You said that you struggled to find your musical voice when you began writing for your guitar singer-songwriter era.
Nick: Mm-hmm.
But clearly you have come a long way since then. So, what does that process look like for you now?
Nick: Uh, it’s interesting, ’cause when I started out, I had no idea what I was doing, and I realized I just needed to jump into it and figure it out as I go, which is just what I live by now. If you don’t know how to do something, just jump in. And I started with a process where I was writing lyrics first and then putting the melody to it, or I was trying to be more systematic, which is a great way to start, but then, as I went, I realized that some songs were perfect to start out that way. Almost like writing a poem and then adding the melody. But then some songs, I just thought of a melody and I’d be like, “oh, that goes with the feeling of a certain subject of song I wanted to write.” Or I think of just a, a specific word or phrase or like, anything can come first and then it’s just sitting down with it and just writing stuff, even if it doesn’t come out how you want it to the first way. And, and not throwing stuff out. I used to, but now I keep everything because, um, you know, my partner’s favorite song is a song that I was literally about to rip up and throw away. But eventually I came back to it and I reworked it a bit, and now it’s a pretty fun one.
Does your music education degree come into play at all here? Is this something you cover with students? Did it give you the courage to begin, or like, tips on how to continue?
Nick: Uh, it does come into play. However, I’m not in music education anymore. I taught for about a decade, and I finally left the field of education. However, it wasn’t even so much the music theory of it that I got from that, that I was teaching the kids, but it was more like just the, the design process, and learning to make mistakes, and just kind of the lessons I learned from it, that I think have been the most valuable things I’ve passed on to students.
My most recent interview has an entire album, through a wizard rock lens, of course, about his students and–
Nick: <laugh>
–the wacky things they do. Crazy situations, silly non-sequiturs.
Nick: Oh. My. Gosh. I love that.
Has that ever happened to you? Have you ever had a, a student say something and you went, “that’s something that could happen at Hogwarts?”
Nick: <laugh> You know what, I’d imagine some of the things my students have said are even crazier that they <laugh> even crazier than things that would happen at Hogwarts. I just love that idea though. Oh my gosh. I, you know, possible future songs. I might, I might take some inspiration from that.
He just rereleased the album too. So they’re all available for, uh, listening and inspiring.
Nick: Ooh, who’s the, who’s the artist and what’s the album, if you remember?
Neville’s Diary.
Nick: Okay.
And I think it’s called The Weird Kid? The Strange Kid? Something, something like that.
Nick: Alright, nice.
Now, my patrons wanted to know, uh, your recommendations. What songs do you love? What bands do you love? Who should they be listening to to understand the HEADBOY mindset?
Nick: Oh, goodness. Well, right off the bat I’ll say Swish and Flick. I love just how fun their music is. Um, I love that electronic sound. Um, and then I <laugh> I also love how raunchy they can get. Uh, it’s just a good time. Um, I have listened to several different albums. Um, I will admit that I don’t have too much of a knowledge of wizard rock– Like I couldn’t name you– I could name you several bands, but I couldn’t name you my favorite ones. However, since you’ve asked me to be on this podcast, I’ve discovered your podcast, and that has been the best way to hear all these songs because I’m hearing bands and songs I’ve never heard of before. And, uh, people are killing it. I love it. So, so I’m sorry, I might be burned at the stake for that one, for that response. Uh, but your podcast is doing, doing the good work, so thank you for that.
I’m finding music I’ve never heard before as I do this-
Nick: Cool.
-so you are hardly alone.
Nick: Cool, cool.
There’re easily a thousand bands that have existed in the world. There’s something for everyone, if you can find it.
Nick: Yeah. Yeah. And just like the range from- it’s crazy, you can find pop songs to rock songs to even medieval, sort of, genres. It’s, it’s really cool to hear the wide variety of talents and skills people have. I, I love it. Keep doing it, everybody.
I’m working on the episode that comes up before this one, which is a themed episode, and I just came across the Dead Ringers, who did-
Nick: Okay.
-“The Death Day Waltz” in just those like hand bells from like a church.
Nick: <laugh> And Death Day Waltz. That’s, that’s a solid title right there.
Let’s put some music here. Potterwatch is up next with “Crookshanks Doesn’t Like You.”
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That was “Crookshanks Doesn’t Like You” by Potterwatch [lyrics], Insane Ian with “Potionmaker” [lyrics], and “Dobby, Bang Your Head” by the Blibbering Humdingers.
Now let’s get back to the interview
Now, you’ve been learning bands-
Nick: Mm-hmm.
-and of course we know you love Swish and Flick. If you were going to do a wrock collab, what would it look like? You mentioned that you like the electronica of Swish and Flick. Would you go-
Nick: Mm-hmm.
-strictly singer-songwriter? Acapella is always a great choice for a first time collab. Uh, and who would you do it with?
Nick: You know, nowadays, I, I don’t have too much free time. I’m, I’m back at school for, for a master’s degree-
We’re going fantasy here.
Nick: Yeah. And, and, you know, this will happen. I do want to jump back into this eventually, and I think it’d be really cool to explore electronic music. That’s something I’ve always wanted to dabble in, um, although I have an amazing guitar, uh, that my partner gifted to me for Christmas one year, and I haven’t played it nearly enough lately, and so I’m missing that as well. And, um, I feel like I just have so many more ideas and, and melodies in my head that I want to write down. Um, so it’ll probably be some more singer-songwriter type stuff. Um, although if Swish and Flick ever wants to do a collab <laugh>, I I will write some raunchy lyrics for you. I’ll, I’ll get on that level. That would be a fun time. I’ll maybe sing some backup vocals or, or have like a feature. Maybe, uh, have an EP or something. Not like I thought too much into it, but <laugh>.
I love that. I hope we make that happen.
Nick: <laugh> Perhaps, perhaps.
I think Avery of How Airplanes Fly was also looking into doing some more electronica. And that might be a fun collab because he also is largely singer-songwriter. I’m not sure if you’re familiar with his music, but it makes you cry.
Nick: Ooh. Oh, I love a good cry. <laugh>
What advice do you have for new wizard rockers?
Nick: Like I was mentioning earlier, just go for it. You don’t need to know anything about music to just make some music. I think it’s beautiful when anyone and everyone makes music. Um, even for someone who went to school for music, it’s a very vulnerable thing for me to release myself singing <laugh> and playing guitar on top of that. And I’ve been told I’m not the best at either of those, and- That’s not what this genre is about, though. It’s about just being able to express yourself without the fear of judgment or anything like that. And this goes for everything, even if you feel like you’re going to be judged. For example, this master’s program that I’m going to, I’m going for themed experience design. I have a degree in, uh, a minor in visual arts. So, uh, very little background in this. And I’ve come into this degree with people who already work in the themed entertainment industry. They work for Universal Studios or other programs doing special effects and building sets and, and crazy stuff that I wanna do, and I don’t have the skills in. But I made it into this program and I’m faking it until I make it, and, uh, I’m going for my, my dreams. And it’s, it’s gonna happen because I’m doing it whether it’s good or not, ’cause it’ll get better.
Longtime listeners know, I like to get really practical advice. Your favorite warm up exercise or a YouTube teacher you think does a really good job?
Nick: Oh, practical advice. I feel like so much of the stuff I was doing, I was just kind of going with the flow. However, I feel like anything can use a good warmup. Like if you’re playing an instrument or singing, just- even though you might be a beginner- or not, it doesn’t matter- do some warmups. YouTube has fun warmups. There’s fun like guitar apps. And, and for writing just, just practice. Just practice writing poems or, or things that are lyrical right off the bat. That’s about as practical as I get. <laugh>
You mentioned, like a lot of wizard rockers do, sort of using Harry Potter as a lens-
Nick: Mm-hmm.
-to explore your own experiences. Do you have any suggestions on finding that way in to the story?
Nick: Ooh, that’s a great question. Uh, I… When I started, I really wanted to, um, do something that was personal and so I decided to stay away from characters, uh, for the most part. Um, I think I name dropped once or twice <laugh> within the album, but, um, and, and I love both sides, but for me personally, it really helped to write it about my own life and then use Harry Potter things as metaphors for what was going on. Like, for example, the songs in my album, “Hufflepuff,” and “Kiss,” and “Better”, uh, and even “Saturday”, were all very inspired by my own personal growth and my own insecurities, um, like low self-esteem, and going through depression, um. And it… I thought it would be easier to write about those things, but that’s, that’s where, where the Harry Potter came in, that- that was my channel for my ideas. Um, it, it helped me, uh, anchor onto something.
We’ve clearly fomented a lot of potential ideas for future HEADBOY music. What specifically are you working on now or in the near future? Besides the master’s degree.
Nick: First of all, I, I would love to perform eventually. I think that that’s something I am very nervous about doing <laugh>. Uh, but it’s just the natural progression. I faced my fears, I came out with an album, and next I want to perform that music in front of people, uh, with, uh, more songs. I’ve had, uh, a ton of experiences since I’ve written this last album, so I have plenty of material to work with. Um, I would just like to write more inspirational music about kind of going for it. That’s been, been the theme for my life lately, and just more personal things that hopefully people will connect with on some level.
Here’s another music break, starting with “Why Draco? Why?” by the Hungry Hungry Hippogriffs.
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That was “Why Draco? Why?” by Hungry Hungry Hippogriffs, “Battle Cry” from How Airplanes Fly [lyrics], and Harry and the Potters with “Follow the Spiders.”
And back to the interview with Nick of Head Boy!
Thank you so much for talking with me today. I feel like we’ve barely scratched the surface. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what you do in the future. But in the meantime, where can WZRD listeners find you online?
Nick: You can find me on Instagram, uh, @StupidScaryNick. It’s all one word. Um, the reason for the, for that username is because I actually have a, my own podcast that I had started, um, and then I got busy and, and so I have three episodes kind of ready to be uploaded at any time. It’s- if you’re a scary movie person, uh, it’s all all about analyzing and reviewing horror movies, but in really dumb, unconventional ways. And so that’s called, uh, Stupid Scary, hence Stupid Scary Nick. Uh, so if you look, um, on Instagram, there was one started for the podcast called @StupidScaryPod, also one word. Uh, however, I’m not too active on either at the moment, although as I start making more things, uh, in school, I am excited to be sharing them. And then you can find me on Bandcamp. You can find my album. It’s called HUFFLEPUFF. It’s all in caps lock. And then, uh, the artist’s name, HEADBOY, uh, one word, all in caps lock as well.
I think your BandCamp is hufflepuffheadboy.bandcamp.com.
Nick: Ooh, thank you <laugh>
And now, here’s Head Boy!
Nick: The song I chose for our listeners today is “Better”. A lot of people have said they resonated with the song and I really did, too, writing it. It’s all about wanting to be someone else and just not being happy with who you are, whether that’s physically, or your personality, or however you might take that. And it’s really about getting past that. Like, that things get better and that you’re perfect just the way you are.
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