LAURA JAKUBCZYK
Hi. My name is Laura Jakubczyk. I was born in Oakville, Ontario, Canada on June 21, 1984, and I lived in Mississauga for the first four years of my life. At the age of four, my family and I moved to the small town of Waterdown, Ontario, a short 45 minutes away. I have lived in Waterdown for 14 years now.
I can remember listening to music at an early age, including Tom Cochrane and Huey Lewis. I saw both live at the age of eight. MY VERY FIRST CONCERT! How exciting for an eight year old! I remember going to the Exhibition Place in Toronto, with my family of course, and being so excited to see them! I had so much fun. Even then, I always wondered what it would be like to be on the stage in front of that many people. Don't they get stage fright?, I wondered.
There are two memories of mine that stick out the most. First, I was in my room listening to music with my cousin one day when I was at least five years old. My uncle came upstairs to hear what it was we were listening to. To his surprise, we were listening to Queen. He couldn't understand why we weren't listening to kid's music, and why we were rockin' out to Queen! Second, I was at a friend’s house when I was six, and we were looking through her parents' albums. All I remember saying was "Put on something that is really good rock!" and we found Pink Floyd.
At the age of six, I began Jazz Dance classes. I just loved that fast dancing so much, especially because it was to music that was from the Dance Mix '93 album. That stuff was so cool back then! It was all I listened to...well, not really. Other tapes in my machine included Elvis, Travelling Wilbury's, Bob Seger, Hootie and the Blowfish, Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughan...a pretty good mix for a girl that age, don't you think?
I also ended up in Ballet and Tap, but I realized by the time I was twelve that dance wasn't for me anymore. I then started Figure Skating. I liked the gracefulness about it, but it was always lacking that hard rock music, man! I had to skate to a lot of slow stuff. Only one song stuck out then. It was Black Velvet by Alana Myles. I liked some of the others, but I got bored with skating after about three years. The teachers were quite upset about me leaving, but I didn't care, because I was so determined to learn how to play the guitar.
At the age of 14, I began my first year of high school. Oh, how I dreaded the day! I didn't know anyone because all of my friends went to a different school. So to help make the year pass by quicker, I begged my parents to sign me up for guitar lessons. I practiced on an old acoustic guitar we’ve had at home for a long time. At first, I was pretty bad. Some say I was great for a first timer. They say I caught on quickly, but I'm always so judgmental about myself. I never believed them. Now I have been taking lessons for four years with a reputable guitar teacher at Lakeshore Music.
One day in March of 1999, my dad and I went into the music store after my guitar lesson. I ended up trying a bunch of guitars, but I only loved the very first one I tried. It was a 1998 American-made Fender Stratocastor in Metallic Blue. I loved it so much! My dad, being the most awesome dad alive, bought it for me! My first guitar, A STRAT! Only the pros play those! I felt honoured to even own one! A year or so went by before I got my second guitar. It's called the Fender Squier Vista Venus, co-designed by Courtney Love. I had only wanted one because my favourite band is Hole, and I wanted the guitar Courtney played so badly! Lucky for me, my 17th birthday was coming up. Again, my totally awesome dad found a Venus guitar in mint condition on E-Bay. He bought it, and surprised me with it in front of all my friends at my birthday party! I cried because I never thought the day would actually come that I would hold one of Courtney Love's guitars. I will always remember that moment when I opened the case and saw the shine of the seafoam green Vista Venus.
Although I have been playing the guitar for four years, I have never been in a band before. I have played with a few bands, but have never actually been in one. I have always wanted to play in an all-girl band, like the early nineties riot-girl bands. L7 is one of my favourites from that time, and of course Hole will always be my top choice! Now, at the age of 18, I have found a style of music that I love and I can't be torn away from. I love the sounds of Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Jerry Cantrell, Creed, Soundgarden...etc.
During my time spent in high school, I took guitar courses for the first and second semesters of grade 11. Then, in grade 12, I tutored a mentally handicapped student who had cancer. He wanted to learn how to play the bass so badly! I really like helping people so I thought a peer-tutoring course would be great for me. I taught him the basics and he enjoyed himself very much.
In September of 2002, the graduating class and I received our diplomas. In addition to that, I won two Subject Awards of Achievement for English and Mathematics. Out of all the years I spent in high school, I would have to say that grades 11 and 12 were my favourite because I was involved with music so much.
During the middle of high school comes the time where all the adults are trying to prepare you for the future. They force you to know what you want to become of yourself by the time grade 12 hits. I never knew what I wanted to do until I was in grade 11. I sat there, thinking to myself, all I love is music...I have to be involved with music in some way. I thought about where I got this ambition from. My dad's side of the family is very musical. Almost all of my uncles play the guitar or sing, and my dad has been playing the drums since he was a teenager. I know that there is the making music part, and then there is the recording part. Why couldn't I do that? I have seen my friend’s band record numerous times before and it is the most fun thing I can think of.
I then knew I would pursue Recording Engineering, and I have wanted to do that ever since. It hasn't faded at all. I have tried to think of other occupations I might like to try, but nothing compares to that of music. I couldn't imagine being involved in a career that I hate going to everyday of my life. Music is the one thing that calms me down. If I am aggravated or sad about something, I can listen to music and it all just disappears. I love watching people create music. It's interesting to see how they do it and I love to be a part of it. If I were to be a Recording Engineer, I could do that for the rest of my life because I know that it is my greatest wish. I want to enjoy what I do, and I know that if it involves music, I will be content for the rest of my life.
Thanx
