Wizard Rock; A History!

» What is Wizard Rock?
Wizard Rock is a genre of music inspired by the works of J.K. Rowling, author of the popular Harry Potter book series. The first known wizard rock band was Harry and the Potters, founded by brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge after all the bands intending to come to a backyard rock show Joe was organizing canceled. The brothers quickly wrote a bunch of songs to perform for the audience, and wizard rock was born.

Since then, many other wizard rock bands have formed. Many, like Harry and the Potters, are named for a specific character and sing songs from their point of view. Many also dress up like the character for performances.

Matt of The Whomping Willows put it best:

There are no BAD Wizard Rock bands. Half of these bands are just kids f*cking around with garage band or whatever free program they can get their hands on. Half of these bands are populated by kids who are just learning to play an instrument and record music. The beauty of Wizard Rock is that for many of the bands, it’s nothing more than a LEARNING EXPERIENCE. We, as the elder statespeople of Wizard Rock, should not be encouraging young people to worry about categorization and public image. We should be encouraging them to HAVE FUN.

And the Muggle version of Wizard Rock is:

Wizard rock (sometimes shorthanded as “WRock”) is a musical movement dating from 2000 that consists of at least 600 bands. Bands include Harry and the Potters, Draco and the Malfoys, Wingardium Leviosa, The Remus Lupins, the Whomping Willows, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, Ministry of Magic, The Moaning Myrtles, The Parselmouths, and Kingsley and the Shacklebolts. They are made up of young musicians playing songs about Harry Potter. The movement started in Massachusetts with Harry and the Potters, though it has grown internationally. However, most wizard rock bands are based in the United States. The lyrics are usually humorous and simple, and many bands write songs from the point of view of a particular character in the books, usually the character who features in the band’s name. If they are performing live, they may also cosplay, or dress as, that character. Though most fans of the music are previous fans of Harry Potter, some bands have attracted listeners outside of the Harry Potter fanbase.

- – In contrast to mainstream bands that have some songs incorporating literary references among a wider repertoire of music (notably Led Zeppelin to The Lord of the Rings), wizard rock bands take their inspiration entirely from the Harry Potter universe. In preserving the promotion of reading, too, bands like to perform in libraries, bookstores and schools. The bands have also performed at the fan conventions.

- Wikipedia

Wizard Rock; A History!

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