Teen Lib.

In one of my young adult lit classes we will be helping a local rock group kick off the first show of their National Library Tour at the Detroit Public Library. The Band is called “The High Strung” and they are a rock band who sounds somewhat like a British Invasion band, the Ramones, and a modern indie rock band. They have had a video on MTV and have been favorably reviewed in many music magazines, including Rolling Stone, which referred to them as “one of the best new, young rock & roll bands in America”.

The cool thing about this band and this tour is the fact that it is taking place in libraries across the countries. William Harmer, the Young Adult Librarian at the Baldwin Public Library is the brain child behind the event. Years ago he organized a concert at his library with a popular band called the Brian Jonestown Massacre. The high-strung opened for this show and absolutely loved playing in a library. This might be in part because the band is quite literate; in fact one band member wrote a novel recently which should be published soon, and they are regular library patrons. Any way, when reflecting upon this show Harmer came up with the idea of a library tour. He pitched the idea to The High Strung and thus the rock and roll library tour was born. Last year they simply toured Michigan playing in libraries and it was very well received. This experience was even related on an episode of National Public Radios This American Life. This year they decided to take the tour across the country.

The band will play for about an hour and then they will take a while to talk with the crowd answering questions about what it is like to be in a successful rock band, what it is like to go on tour, or even what it is like to be on MTV.

If you have been trying to find ways to get teens to your library, and to show them that the library can be cool to, what could be better than being part of the Rock and Roll Library Tour. Teens will jump at a chance to see a band live, for free, that they would normally be shelling out twenty bucks to see at some other venue. For more info, check out the bands website or email William Harmer at harmerbi@baldwinlib.org. If you are in the area, stop by during the opening show at the Detroit Public Library on April 5^th at 5:30 pm.