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      Caroline Teinert, well-known at GRHS as a frequent concert attendee, used her connections in the Houston music scene to arrange a second house show with Nate Flynn, former bassist of the pop-punk band Sing It Loud.

      Caroline can attest to the saying, “It’s all about who you know.” In August 2010, she emailed Flynn and asked him if he would be interested in doing a live acoustic show in her own living room. Flynn showed up to her house to play some of his songs for Teinert and her closest friends.

      She recalls that afterwards, “he took requests, and we basically had a sing-along jam session in my living room.”

      In November, Teinert contacted Flynn again to set up another show for February 2011. This time, she was able to host around fifteen teenagers and enjoy another live show in her living room. Flynn played his new original songs “Mama” and “Beauty of Everyday,” both of which are now available on iTunes.

       “He’s a really nice and talented guy,” Teinert said. “I’m really glad that I took the time to email him in the first place, because these shows are so much fun!”

      Teinert recalls seeing Green Day in fifth grade, and soon after became hooked to live shows, saying that “after that, the momentum slowly picked up,” where she now goes to concerts every few weeks. Since seeing Green Day in concert, she has attended over 75 shows and hosted three shows in her own home – two with Flynn and the other with School Boy Humor. She has met many talented musicians like Travis Clark of We the Kings, Christofer Drew Ingle of Never Shout Never, and bands like Forever the Sickest Kids, Breathe Carolina, Stereo Skyline, The Maine, I See Stars, and Escape the Fate.

      “I’ve had a bunch of cool experiences because I always seem to be at the right place at the right time,” Teinert said.

      She remembers one time when The Scene Aesthetic agreed to play a few acoustic songs by their bus, sitting next to solo artist Stephen Jerzak with only a few others. She has had similar experiences with other bands who have agreed to play up close and personal. When she saw Artist vs. Poet, the entire audience moved into the parking lot to play an impromptu set.

      “It is really a personal experience, and not that many people can say that they got to see them play acoustic songs in a parking lot, especially when the bands get bigger,” Teinert said.

      But experiences like these do not come without determination. Teinert jumped into the local scene when she saw Thee Armada at Oyster Creek Park a few years ago. It was only 36 degrees, but she recalls that she got to sit on the stage of the amphitheater they have there. She talked to the lead singer after, and he invited her to their show the following week. After that, it was like a domino effect. She saw bands opening for Thee Armada, then would go the shows of those bands and find even more bands. She would meet the bands at their shows and find out more about them and their music.

       “At most concerts, it’s as easy as walking up to them after or during the show because they’re just hanging around the venue,” Teinert said. “The bands I’m into really care about their fans and want to meet as many of them as possible. If you aren’t creepy, you can have real conversations with them.”

      To keep these relationships strong, you have to continue going to their shows. “It’s gotten to the point that they remember me. I got into the local scene just by going to a few concerts,” said Teinert.

      In fact, Teinert says that she would prefer to go to small shows over a large concert. “You get a more personal experience; you aren’t just one in a sea of thousands and thousands of people. You can kind of get to know the musicians and feel like they really appreciate that you chose to spend your babysitting money on a ticket to see them and buy their t-shirt.”

       To those that don’t have a love for music like Teinert’s, it might seem hard to understand why one girl would spend so much time and money on live music. But for Caroline, that’s where she enjoys herself the most.

      “I would choose going to a concert over a party any day,” she says. “Seeing bands live is just a completely different experience than listening to them on your iPod. I can’t really explain it, but it’s kind of a surreal experience. You’re gathered in a place with a bunch of people who also know every word to every song and love the band just as much as you do. When the band is having a good time, you’re going to have a good time too.”