Paso Robles Magazine Article

Discover your online music resource at Bandictionary.net
By Melissa Chavez

Today's youth aren't just surfing the Internet. They own a big chunk of it. As a 13-year-old, Emilee [last name removed for privacy reasons] loved music so much; she turned it into an enterprise by launching her own Web site, Bandictionary.net. It not only provides a forum in which she could archive her favorite bands, but fills a niche for the masses. In the past 14 months alone, her fledgling music resource tallied over 93,000 page views and continues to grow.

"I taught myself how to create Web sites for a few years," says Emilee, now 15. "The idea for the site came two years ago in April. I wanted a way to be able to get closer to my favorite bands. I've always been interested in what people think and how it (the music world) works." Emilee attributes her childhood interest in music to her father, Carlos [last name removed], and her mother, Marianne. Many locals know her parents as co-owners of Senor Sancho's restaurants in Paso Robles. Carlos is also a singer-songwriter who makes occasional commutes to his second home in Nashville to perform at local clubs.

Emilee would listen to '70s and '80s era bands, including genre-defining artists like Queen, The Clash and Smashing Pumpkins and generation appropriate groups, such as The Backstreet Boys. She enjoys just about all types of music, with less interest in rap and country, but her tastes especially gravitate toward alternative rock. For those old enough to recall Sinatra, Elvis, The Beatles, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Aretha, alternative rock is just one of today's musical genres that's difficult to categorize.

In fact, alt-rock contains so many sub-genres, attempting to summarize them could start an argument, for the spectrum is wide. They include the grunge rock of Seattle (Pixies, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, R.E.M.), punk (Patti Smith, The Clash, The Ramones), post-punk (Devo, The Cure, Psychodelic Furs), gothic rock (The Cult, Mephisto Waltz, Virgin Prunes), Indie pop (Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins, Feist) and indie rock (independent and a few underground artists), just to name a few.

Emilee's listings on Bandictionary lean toward current American pop punk, rock, and post-hardcore, with a splash of emo, screamo and power pop. The site offers a Bandictionary Highlights section featuring the Band of the Week, recent releases, album reviews, and music world news that devoted fans need to know, such as band changes or break-ups. On the Photos page, be sure to check out the links from My Chemical Romance and Projekt Revolution that demonstrate great examples of Emilee's budding photographic skills.

"Because of school, the site gets updated about once a month, but we post information about new bands every couple of weeks," says Emilee. "Five people are helping me out. Two are from L.A., one from Fresno, one from Florida, and another from Australia." In true millennial fashion, she met her staff of volunteers over the Internet and oversees two writers: Alyse and Taylor. Brittany serves as Webmaster, Chelsea works as editor and photographer, and Vix is in charge of promotions. Bandictionary's popularity spreads largely by word-of-mouth with help from message boards, e-mail link attachments, and stickers containing their Web site that are hand-distributed after shows.

So far, Emilee has attended more than 50 shows and interviews two or three times per year. Her fortunes improve greatly at the annual mega-headliner, Vans-sponsored "Warped Tour" sports and music festivals, where she secures twice as many interviews.

"I drive her around to concerts," says Marianne. "That's my job. But it's all her idea. Emilee does the Web site herself and has kept it going. She's taken on several associates, but does all of the interviews. She has very good phone manner and seems beyond fifteen," Emilee's mother observes. "They might mistake her for a fan, but when she talks with them, she doesn't gush all over them and just ask for autographs. When we went to Hawaii to do an interview, Emilee was supposed to have a photo pit pass, but they had forgotten and she'd nearly gotten turned down." But mom's intervention was necessary in that situation so the trip wouldn't be in vain.

"I've gotten feedback from a mother of one of the band members who appreciated being interviewed," says Emilee. "In general, I think I'm a lot closer to the music than a lot of adult journalists because I actually listen to the music and research them a lot before I interview. So, I can ask in-depth questions. When we get more mainstream bands, we want to help the smaller bands, too." Emilee hopes to draw more visitors to the site, but says she definitely needs more help to meet present demand. "The crucial thing is that we get more content, so I want to get a few more writers to get it done and faster, too. I hope our readers tell everyone they know or send e-mail. We can also mail them a package of stickers to hand out or an e-mail file with a flier to print and put up."

Where does Emilee see herself in five years? "I've thought about journalism or photography, and I've written songs. I sing, so I'd like to be a musician in my own band and play music similar to My Chemical Romance or Smashing Pumpkins. Ideally, I see myself on stage and I can't imagine doing anything else.

"I'm just a teenager like most 15-year-olds," Emilee says quietly. "I enjoy photographing concerts and have an interest and appreciation of art. Without my parents, I wouldn't have been able to do interviews and get photo passes. I appreciate their support very much, probably more than they know."


Paso Robles Magazine, April 2008 issue