THUNDER BAY – Childsplay Bullying sucks! Still all teens themselves, Childsplay is a band with a mission. To bring awareness to one of the most important issues that face high school students today, bullying.
Childsplay, a young punk band from Vancouver, BC has teamed up with Pink Shirt Day (www.pinkshirtday.ca), a national organization to bring awareness to this cause and have just recently recorded two anti-bullying songs, “One more day” and “We are strong”.
This tour project was inspired by the band to bring awareness to school level bullying. As a band, Childsplay saw the need to make this a real and urgent focus.
Inspiring other young bands and up and coming musicians and artists at the high school level to speak out about bullying can really make a difference. This is GROUND ZERO and something has to be done.
Throughout the tour, at all locations, local bands and performers from the high schools are encouraged to join in and perform and showcase their own talent. The result is an exciting music showcase for the whole school that inspires young musicians, connects the students and at the heart of it brings awareness to this cause.
Making this a focus point of the tour is very exciting. Getting right into the schools is ground zero for bullying. “We wanted to use music, poetry, and art as a way to express and get information out about how bullying can cause extreme harm to people of any age and gender and race and to hopefully end bullying and make people aware of the damage it can cause families and friends and communities.” says Jaden Faber, singer and guitarist of Childsplay. The goal is to inspire youth across Canada to take up the challenge and to start speaking out against bullying.
This spring tour will be the fourth leg of the tour so far and the farthest reaching to date following up on their Vancouver Island Tour, BC / Alberta Tour and the Western Canada 2012 Fall Tour which saw the band perform 12 dates across BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.
WHY IS THIS TOUR IMPORTANT?
If there was a strong way to connect teens and give them a sense of belonging, music and art are key.
Music is a bridge for building acceptance and tolerance for people of different ages and cultural backgrounds.
Many people retain horrible memories of high school, in large part due to the bullying they experienced. As William Hooley, Childsplay’s bassist puts it, “Music is an escape from bullying, playing an album won’t yell at you for being the way you are, it will make you feel better about it. Society pumps kids full of fear regardless. The last thing kids need to fear are their peers; they should stand strong beside them.”
Teenage bullying is a very real problem in schools. And it isn’t always physical. There are many different types of bullying, including verbal and emotional bullying. These types of bullying, though more subtle than physical bullying, can still have a large impact on a student. Additionally, with the Internet now becoming a huge part of many teen lives, it is no surprise that cyber bullying is seeing an increase.
The goal is to make a connection and use music to take a stand. “It’s not a normal part of life. Bullying is a serious issue and not enough things are being done about it“, says Levin Faber, the bands drummer.
Takumi Shimokawa, Childsplay’s guitarist sums it up this way, “Many who are bullied look to be accepted where ever it may be. Lots of kids can turn to drugs, smoking, heavy drinking which is what we obviously don’t want. A better alternative I’ve (we’ve) found is music as music can unite a core group of friends that can relate in some way.“
The Bullying Sucks Tour hits high schools this spring and fall across Canada.
For schools wanting to get involved and host an event, students wanting to submit artistic work or anyone wanting to help the tour across Canada by donating, they can go directly to the website at www.rockthecause.ca. This is a huge undertaking for such a young band, but Childsplay is excited to see it through.
CHILDSPLAY WEBSITE
http://www.childsplaymusic.ca/
From student of Salmon Arm Secondary “You guys made my life! you inspired me to keep going on in music!!”
“Childsplay was a great asset to the youth in our town. They welcomed our local talent to perform during the same venue and stayed to talk, offering an opportunity for our students to be inspired by their road trip through the Province. They demonstrated what it means to follow a dream. We welcome them back anytime” Vice Principal | Mackenzie Secondary School
SPRING 2013 DATES
The Spring tour will run from April 22, 2013 to May 04, 2013.
Monday April 22 Armstrong BC. Pleasant Valley Secondary
