Music is somewhat important to many people, but for John Schairer, it’s an integral part of life. "I’m for self-enjoyment, however you find it," says the tall, blond sophomore.

Schairer’s self-enjoyment is derived from guitar. He’s self-taught and learned to play over the course of about two years. He even has his own garage band, which he plays with on weekends. He and the drummer, an old friend of Schairer’s, started playing together and eventually became a band, but the group rarely performs publicly and is mostly for the members’ own fun. The band mostly does classic rock covers like ‘Who Are You’ and ‘Let It Be’ but Schairer is hopeful that they will eventually have their own material. “We’ve started playing 80’s metal, like Guns and Roses and Megadeth, though they’re really early 90’s,” he says.

Originally, Schairer started guitar because he “thought it looked cool,” but now his reasons for playing are different. "The idea of a band sounded really cool, and I started to be in a band, but that’s not really what it’s about," Schairer explains. "I like to play to unwind. Sometimes, I need to play really loudly and get steam off, blow the roof off the house." Thankfully, his parents approve of his musical expression. "I don’t try to overpower them, and sometimes they like to listen to me play… They like that I’m doing something."

However, not everyone in the family may enthusiastically acknowledge his talent. "I think my brother’s kinda sore that I’m better than he is," Schairer jokes.

Since he has never taken any lessons, Schairer’s parents don’t make him practice and he can move at his own pace. "It’s purely for enjoyment," he smiles. It must be, because he himself paid for most of his self-described "thrifty" equipment by working as a Little League umpire, continuing his bond with baseball (Schairer played in Little League through sixth grade. ) He umpires because it’s "fun, paid and good experience," although money makes up a great deal of the attraction. "I need new gear, so I’m looking forward [to the next season.]" he adds with a laugh.

But does he ever plan to share his rock’n’roll success story with legions of screaming fans? Not likely. "I don’t expect to go anywhere …for my mediocre guitar playing to take me through life," he explains. Schairer’s plans for the future include going to college and possibly joining the military, specifically the elite Marines.

His break-out career may involve journalism, though. "I’m always reading the newspaper," says the current Beginning Journalism student.
Perhaps in a few years we may be reading music reviews by a certain John Schairer, but for now he’s just trying to find some self-enjoyment.