Community Corner

Young Band Leader Isn't Afraid to Rock Out [Video]

Claire Traynor and her band Radio/Silence are in a national battle of the bands contest.

When it comes to music, Claire Traynor isn’t a typical teenager.

The 15-year-old Wayne Hills sophomore is the guitarist, singer, and front woman of Radio/Silence, a local rock band. And, unlike a lot of her friends and classmates, she still buys compact discs and cassette tapes.

“I don’t know what it is. There’s just something about having something physical in your hand to hold,” Traynor said. “There’s artwork too. Its about more than just the music.”

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Traynor’s band is one of the more than 100 bands in the Best Teen Rock Band in America contest. The National Association of Music Merchants sponsors the annual contest. The band will go to Walt Disney World in California and perform in the national finals if it finishes in the top six in the online contest. Voting ends this week.

The winner of that competition will go to Germany to compete against bands from Europe.

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Traynor, a self-taught guitar player and songwriter, started teaching herself the instrument one day two years ago after listening to Nirvana. She used to play the trumpet when she was younger but never joined the school band or marching band.

“I just walked past my dad’s guitar and just picked it up one day and started teaching myself,” Traynor said.

The members of Radio/Silence have a wide range of musical interests, which has helped define their style of play.

“We all have diverse musical tastes. I’m into 90s alternative and garage rock, our drummer is into is more into hardcore rock. It’s a mix of genres really,” Traynor said. “But that’s really neat because the bottom line is we all love music so much.”

The band performed at the recent charity Rock 4 Food charity concert. The band has played at Wayne Day and other local community festivals and events.

Being on stage, Traynor said, can be a little nerve wracking at first but that passes quickly.

“You get the energy of the crowd and you just get comfortable on stage eventually and feed off of the audience’s energy,” Traynor said. “It’s an amazing feeling.”

For more information on Radio/Silence, or to vote for the band in the competition, click here.

— Have a question or news tip? Contact editor Daniel Hubbard at Daniel.Hubbard@patch.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. For news straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.


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