Senior Chuck Whitehead loves to be in the limelight; whether it’s under the Friday night lights, on the wrestling mat, or rocking out in front of the entire school with a wireless guitar.  

Recently, Whitehead and some of his friends participated in the Rock Band tournament where the entire school was able to witness Whitehead’s fake guitar skills. 

After last year’s Rock Band performance, Whitehead and fellow band members Andrew Polowy, Hunter Kish, and Tom McKeough, agreed that they were going to give it a shot their senior year. 

“My friends and I made the agreement that we were going to play this year after last year’s concert because it looked like it was a lot of fun,” Whitehead said. 

The morning of December 22 Whitehead was ready to rock; cape tied tightly, sandals knee high, sporting the finest gladiator attire. 

Foot tapping, Whitehead patiently waited for his band to be called. He just finished his last rep of finger exercises and was officially warmed up. The band performing struck their final chord, receiving a decent amount of applause. “Amateurs,” Whitehead said under his breath. 

As the lights above the stage flashed, Whitehead knew it was his time to shine. ‘Tom and the Night Terrors’ echoed across the theater and Whitehead could almost see his heart pounding from underneath his armor. 

“Tom is notorious for having night terrors in his sleep,” Whitehead said. “Since he was our singer, ‘Tom and the Night Terrors’ seemed like it made the most sense for our band name.” 

Cape flowing in the wind with each step taken, Whitehead felt the audience’s anticipation grow as he became closer and closer to the stage. 

“My favorite part about participating in Rock Band was walking up in our costumes and looking at the audience’s reactions, especially Tom’s dress,” Whitehead said.  

With sweaty palms, Whitehead picked up his guitar and could instantly feel a surge of energy. His fingers felt right at home placed on top of the keys. 

Scrolling through the list, Whitehead anxiously waited for his band’s song to pop up. The crowd erupted in excitement upon seeing Tom and the Night Terror’s song choice- ‘Fireflies’- a true classic. 

“We picked ‘Fireflies’ as our song because we wanted a funny song for Tom to sing,” Whitehead said. 

It was finally time for Whitehead to showcase his talent. The song’s intro blaring, Whitehead could feel the crowd’s energy go right through him. 

The green note began to scroll down the screen. Pointer finger hovering over the green button, Whitehead was more than ready to hit his first note. Striking the strum bar, Whitehead never felt so empowered. 

Green, red, yellow…the first verse was coming to an end. Running over to Tom and his mic, Whitehead began to belt “I’d like to make myself believe that planet earth turns slowly…” as the entire audience joined with them. 

Whitehead never felt as alive as he did in that moment. Strumming note after note, he wished the song would never end. 

“It was a lot of fun performing in front of the school with my friends,” Whitehead said. “It was a great feeling to play one of the best songs ever made.”  

Tom’s angelic voice sang the last verse with the rest of the audience as Whitehead hit his final note. Fists held high, Whitehead fought the urge to smash his guitar on the ground for a grand exit.  

Whitehead waved to all of his fans as he made his way back to his seat. Feeling the love from the audience, he knew his band had this competition in the bag. 

Mr. Weaver began to announce the winner of each category. Tom and the Night Terrors anxiously waited for their name to be called. After winning Best Crowd Response, Whitehead felt that there was no way his band could win Best Overall Performance too. 

Whitehead and the rest of his band held their breath as Mr. Weaver announced the final winner. They could not believe their ears when they heard him say “Tom and the Night Terrors;” it really was a dream come true. 

“I was very surprised that we won both categories,” Whitehead said. “I really didn’t expect us to do so well.” 

Even though Whitehead’s band was successful in the school’s Rock Band competition, he is leaving his rockstar life behind to become a Husky at Bloomsburg. 

“I decided to go to Bloomsburg when I visited the campus with some friends,” Whitehead said. “It’s not too close to home, but not too far, so I can still come home on the weekends and have my mom do my laundry.” 

With the confidence shown during his Rock Band performance, Whitehead will be sure to make his mark at Bloomsburg.