Music is My Therapy | Rebecca Lutz

Music is My Therapy

by: Rebecca Lutz

You stand on a raised platform. Multicolored light is splattered upon the walls, a kaleidoscope of reds, yellows, and blues thrown out by glaring spotlights. A hundred faces glint in the intoxicating light. A hush falls over the crowd as you raise your guitar and begin to pick your way through a song.

This is what life is like for Giulietta Randell, a sophomore at Canyon Crest Academy and lead guitarist and singer of her own original rock and roll band. At only fourteen years old, she has already played in countless different venues. They started up their band in January of 2016 and primarily play gigs at open mic nights around the area. Giulietta, however, is no stranger to playing at large events. Said Giulietta, “I performed at the Old House Fair at South Park [and] I performed at a Padres game, that was fun. I also played the national anthem at a Gulls game with my friend, Ruthie. We sang The Birthday Song by the Beatles there as well,” and that’s only the tip of the iceberg for this developing musician.

The seed for Giulietta’s budding music career began with piano lessons starting age four. Then on a Christmas morning she received a shiny new electric guitar, the first in a line of many. “I was always interested in rock and roll,” Giulietta recalled fondly. “but it wasn’t until later that I was more heavily introduced, and now it’s part of my life.”

Now Giulietta takes her guitar lessons from Craig Devine, founding member of the Devine Guitar School located in Encinitas. As her first guitar tutor, Devine is an inspiration to her and encourages her to continue to cultivate her roots in classical guitar.

Giulietta relies heavily on her music as a safety net during times of need. Every inch of available wall space in her room is plastered with posters featuring the Rolling Stones, the Who, and over fifteen Beatles posters. That’s not mentioning the posters that are tucked safely into a closet for safekeeping until she can find the space to display them.

In a more serious moment, Giulietta confided that “Without music, I wouldn’t be able to come out with some very personal thoughts, [things] that I otherwise wouldn’t confess to other people. Music is my therapy. It’s my place to vent so I don’t have to burden others with my feelings.”

Giulietta is one of the five people in her band. “I’m the leader,” she confirmed with a slight grin. “It’s mostly me and my bassist, Mack… we get everybody to do what we want.” The other members include Troy, the keyboardist, and Brady, the drummer. Brady was described by Giulietta as “absolutely insane,” but she also conceded that he plays his drums brilliantly. Her bassist, Mack, serves as her co-leader and trusted friend.

Every Saturday afternoon she goes over to her bassist’s second living room for their band practice. “I’m usually a couple minutes late. I’ll walk in and they’ll be messing around, talking… you know, not really doing anything. From there we’ll set up amps. Then there’s a hour and a half of music.”

Giulietta and her band are currently in the midst of recording demos for their original songs. She and Mack plan out the specifics of what to play, how to play it, and when to use it in the song. Or, sometimes they would just play whatever struck them as good in the moment. “Brady and Troy usually come later to add onto it,” she explained.

They plan to eventually release their work to the main music outlets such as Spotify and iTunes. It has certainly been a difficult and grueling process meeting the needs of the band while also keeping up with her own life, and she shall continue to face challenges and setbacks. However, Giulietta is taking an optimistic approach to the prospect of it all. “We’re going for the next big thing,” Giulietta assured. “So, see us on the top charts!”