Hey there, thanks for coming to my site! I’m Andrew Rohlk (it rhymes with folk) and long story made short: I’m a musician. There’s a lot of other interests in my life, but music is something that always seems to take up the majority of my time, energy, and brainpower.
My experience with music is an ongoing journey, and I strive for variety and take a well-rounded approach towards musicianship. My first formal encounter with music was in 6th grade when I joined the school band. Despite my aspirations of being a trumpet virtuoso, I was placed on the euphonium. In all likelihood, you’ve never heard of this bizarre and underrepresented instrument unless you were a band geek like me. Nevertheless, I learned the fundamentals of music and musicianship through this, and went on to play in the school jazz band and later the marching band in high school.
As much fun as the baritone horn (AKA the euphonium) was, I wasn’t truly pee-my-pants excited about music until my mom gave me a guitar for my 13th birthday. I started out playing a lot of blues and classic rock and really just wanted to shred like Hendrix.
Being an introverted, socially awkward kid, I could never really find anybody to be in a band with me. So I reluctantly started figuring out how to sing, which I don’t recommend. Singing is hard. Much harder than learning an instrument in my opinion. And when you teach yourself, you mostly try to emulate and imitate. This often doesn’t work out too well since most rock musicians are not shining examples of proper singing technique.
I eventually got up the courage to seek out other musicians to play with, and I’ve been in bands of various styles. Some bands more serious than others.
These days, I’m working on finishing up my degree at James Madison, and I sing in a co-ed a cappella group. I never pictured myself as a singer, but it’s something I’ve gotten more used to over the years.
I write songs as a form of therapy and cathartic release. I try to stick to what I know: my view of the world around me. This means I write about the things I see in others and the shortcomings I have in my own relationships, friendships, etc. I try to be honest without shoving my perspective down your throat. And who knows, maybe every once in a while, you can relate?
