Students came together in the library on Feb. 8 for Excalibur’s vampire-themed Coffeehouse. The event combines student-written work, from poems to songs, and filled the normally quiet library with applause, snaps and cheers. The Excalibur staff brought their months of planning to life and decorated the library from floor to ceiling with vampire-inspired decor. Students who paid a total of $5 were greeted by bats, coffins and splashes of red as they took their seats and enjoyed vampire-themed sweets and coffee while waiting for the two acts of performances to begin. Performers from all grades, including Excalibur’s very own editors and members, took the stage and performed original pieces for their peers. 

We are proud to present some of our favorite photos from this year’s Coffeehouse as this week’s Tuesday Top 10 photo essay.

LET’S GET LOUDER: Senior Oscar Morales plays guitar with his heavy-psychedelic-rock band OOGWEI during the final performance of Coffeehouse. According to Morales, the decision to play at Coffeehouse was made “on a whim.”

“We weren’t originally going to [play Coffeehouse],” Morales said. “But then Ms. Wood said she didn’t want any loud or heavy music. That had to change.”

Despite it being loud and heavy, Morales believes the change in tone was well-received. 

“There was most definitely a contrast [in music genres],” Morales said. “All three of us were actually pretty nervous right before we went on. Our music definitely has some heavier elements as well, so we didn’t want to scare anyone away, but I would say people received our set really well.”

Morales believes that even if your craft is somewhat different from others, it should still be presented. 

“I think anyone should be able to show everyone what they have to offer, you know?” Morales said. “Like our music is apparently heavy, but it’s just what we end up making.”

Caption by Morgan Eye. Photo by Eliza Jensen. 

DRACULA’S VERSION OF COFFEEHOUSE: Each year as part of the Coffeehouse experience, Excalibur picks a theme to tie into their show, decorations and food that is served. Traditionally the theme follows along with an old storybook, and this year, the Excalibur staff members chose one they could really sink their teeth into… Dracula. 

Coffeehouse offers McCallum artists an opportunity to perform a poem, rap, original song or group act. The talent show-type environment sets the stage for these up-and-coming artists to present their material to a live audience, and gain more exposure. 

According to senior Ayden Lee, getting to be a part of Coffeehouse was memorable because it expanded his musical horizons in a way connected to McCallum. 

“I prepared for the show mainly by repeating my lyrics throughout the day and hopefully remembering them,” Lee said. “I played an original song titled ‘Palo Santo Splinters’ and it was a fairly new song that I had written, so it was a bit difficult.”

Lee notes that while performing an original song was something of a daunting challenge, the Coffeehouse environment made him feel comfortable and at home while performing, and made it “worth it in the end.”

“Right after I finished I heard everyone applaud,” Lee said. “It was super special to hear that.” 

Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Eliza Jensen.

A HANDS-ON EFFORT: The preparation for Coffeehouse, the annual musical even put on by Excalibur, exhibits behind the scenes work that allow the show to function in full fashion, and without any kinks, or issues. While the show is recognized for its opportunity to showcase up and coming McCallum artists, the process of putting on the show is as much of a formidable challenge as performing in it.  

The show is not only composed of the acts, but people to run the behind-the-scenes work as well, all taken upon by Excalibur to raise money for its organization in a unique McCallum way. Senior Keegan Sawarte, one of the two emcees at the show, had a hands-on role in producing the show picking a theme and running auditions, which made the whole experience more enjoyable. 

“We thought the Dracula theme would work well because there’s a lot of decoration possibilities, and it would be really fun to produce,” Sawarte said. 

Excalibur puts on Coffeehouse as a way to get the McCallum student body involved in a group activity, as well as to support growing artists.

“Coffeehouse is such a major event for both Excalibur and the school as a whole since it’s the way we get money for printing the literary magazine in the spring,” Sawarte said. “We all worked really hard to put it together, and it was stressful but the end result was so worth it because everyone did incredible.”

Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Eliza Jensen.

THE SEED BEHIND “LAMP FLOWER”: During McCallum’s annual Coffeehouse on Thursday, produced by Excalibur, sophomore Chim Becker performed their original song, “Lamp Flower.” 

Becker didn’t think they would be able to perform in Coffeehouse this year due to being a model in the fashion show and a member of the Seussical cast, so this song was turned around in the final few days leading up to the event.

While thinking about what to perform at this year’s event in such a short amount of time, Becker turned to their friends to help think of a name. 

“I just started with a title that my friends helped me come up with, which was ‘Lamp Flower’, and from their ideas just sort of grew, and I used some chord progressions I had thought of beforehand,” Becker said. “I kind of just started singing over the chords, and I got a pretty good melody, which ended up being the verse.” 

“Lamp Flower” is sung by the narrator who can’t bring themselves to say goodbye to a lamp flower, a tulip. In the song, the narrator has been nursing this tulip under a heat lamp in the dark corner of their apartment. They don’t want to let this flower go, but they know it’s for the best in the long run.

Even with the time crunch, Becker was able to produce a song they were proud of and enjoy the experience. 

“I’m glad I chose to do it because it was a great experience,” Becker said. “It was so fun to do, especially because I had a lot of friends who saw the performance and who were also presenting some of their original work.”

Caption by Maya Tackett. Photo by Julia Copas.

SINGING FROM THE HEART: Junior Robin Kulhanek performs their original song “Laundry.” For Kulhanek, Coffeehouse offered a great opportunity to practice performing.

“I really was happy to share this song with my friends and also just get more comfortable performing things in front of audiences,” Kulhanek said.

According to Kulhanek, the atmosphere of Coffeehouse is what makes it such a unique performance experience.

“The audience is kind of limited since it’s in the library,” Kulhanek said, “so it doesn’t feel as overwhelming if it was in the Fine Arts Building Theater or MAC theater.”

But it wasn’t just performing that made Coffeehouse meaningful for Kulhanek; it was the chance to listen to other student artists.

“I really liked the lineup,and some people really surprised me with their songs and poems,” Kulhanek said. “I also enjoyed how supportive the crowd was.”

Caption by Alice Scott. Photo by Eliza Jensen.

KING OF THE COFFEEHOUSE: Senior King Perez Cude strums his guitar while performing alongside his band, OOGWEI. Inspired by Grand Master Oogway of DreamWorks’ Kung Fu Panda, the band’s setlist was just as eclectic as its name. 

“We couldn’t decide on one song,” Perez Cude said. “We pulled [ideas] from just jamming beforehand and finding new combos of songs. We played the intro to a song called ‘Temple Of Light’ into ‘Strut,’ into ‘Extremely Wicked,’ into the end of a song called ‘I Will Neutralize.’”

Although OOGWEI only formed in November, its musicians are no strangers to the stage. Perez Cude and both of his bandmates, bassist Oscar Morales and drummer Jack Strüb, are all multi-band musicians. For Perez Cude, being in both bands Facade and OOGWEI hasn’t tired his love of making and performing music. 

“We’ve been writing and recording a ton,” Perez Cude said. “ We are going to be booking more once we get these demos out. We just love playing at any opportunity.” 

Caption by Caroline Owen. Photo by Morgan Eye.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: After a sudden change of plans, senior Jackson Stahlman improvises jazz on the flugelhorn. 

“Our drummer wasn’t able to make it, so we had to figure out something else to do,” Stahlman said. “We normally play metal, so the jump to free jazz was a pretty big one.” 

Drummer Dustin Stanley was supposed to perform with the Steel Band at Texas Music Education Association Convention.

“We realized this two days before Coffeehouse, so it was pretty frantic trying to put something else together,” Stahlman said. “Our set was completely improvised over some chords that we agreed on ahead of time.”

Although they’re a metal band, Nest was able not only to adapt to a different style, but to embrace it.

“We eventually realized we would have to do something pretty different to what we normally play because of the new instrumentation,” Stahlman said. “We landed on something much more ambient and improvisational, which I was really happy with.”

Caption by Caroline Owen. Photo by Eliza Jensen.

MORAL SUPPORT: The best way to spread coffee house cheer; Seniors Jaella Brush, Sophia Garza and Clara McFadden sit closest to the front to applaud the coffee house performers. 

Brush believes that as a senior it is important to attend school events such as Coffeehouse as her high-school career comes to a close this semester. 

“We went to coffeehouse for many reasons,” Brush said. “First off it’s our senior year so we all want to be involved as much as we can in school activities especially now in the second semester.”

Brush also attributes her desire to be at coffeehouse to the performers on the lineup.

“We know a few of the people involved in the coffeehouse process so we wanted to support them all,” Brush said. “We had to come see the senior bands like Nest and OOGWEI as well as Robin Kulhanek.” 

Brush believes that each performance stood out in their own way. 

“I may be biased but I think Jackson playing the flugelhorn in Nest was pretty cool,” Brush said. “It wasn’t like anything else I’ve seen or heard especially from a MAC band and it rocked.”

Amidst her rounds of cheering, there was a point where Brush found herself cheering the loudest she would all night. 

“We cheered the loudest for robin just cause not only are they a friend to all of us but they’re so talented,” Brush said. “Robin’s song was so good. A lot of the performances were good of course but their song felt so well written and emotional I recorded the whole thing.” 

Caption by Morgan Eye. Photo by Julia Copas.

BARING HER SOUL: Sophomore Beatrix Lozach performed in Coffeehouse last Thursday, performing her own song. Coffeehouse had a vampire theme this year, and Lozach said she was drawn to the trope of a girl falling in love with an immortal vampire.

“Throughout the lyrics I alternate perspectives, trying to convey the dichotomy of literally bloodlust and tenderness,” Lozach said. “There are real life parallels to the lyrics.” 

Lozach had artistic and literary inspirations while writing her song, from the Twilight Saga to Lana Del Rey. She was able to draw on many influences to write her song to the fullest, and ensure that it had multiple viewpoints. 

“Anne Rice and Sylvia Plath were also pivotal in the song’s development,” she said. “I actually quote the latter in the pre-chorus.” 

Lozach performed her song at coffeehouse, with an audience of more than 50 and felt a lot of nerves to perform in front of a big audience. She also felt nervous because “‘the caliber of songwriting at McCallum is absolutely elite.” 

“My nerves dissipated as soon as I began singing,” Lozach said. “I’ve never really had stage fright because the euphoria of singing your own music is unmatched. In a way, you’re baring your soul.” 

Caption by Priya Thoppil. Photo by Eliza Jensen.

THE SOUND OF MUSIC: With only two years worth of vocal experience, Senior Sinclair Keller sings an original song, “Keep On.” 

To Keller, the song is about hoping to help someone you sincerely care about, but instead, they push you away. She states that it caused her to be very emotional while writing, yet it is her favorite song she’s written before. 

On the day before the performance, Keller changed a word in the song to assure herself that everything blended well together. 

“I wanted to make sure that the format was the same across the whole song, and that it sounded cohesive, and that can be hard to do.” 

Singing comes naturally to Keller. Even though she has only been singing for two years, from the moment she started performing, it was like an instinct had kicked in, and all the nervous jitters went away. Feedback from her peers is what matters most to her, though.

“I like being able to showcase what I can do before an audience,” Keller said. “And I like getting feedback after the performance. I got a lot of really nice comments after I performed, and it was really sweet, and I enjoy sharing music with people.”  

As the art Director for coffeehouse, and after personally coming up with the idea for this year’s Dracula theme and creating the ticket design, Keller played a key role in marketing the show for the students at McCallum. 

“You don’t have to read the book Dracula, to know who he is. It’s just an idea I had because it’s based on literature, but also a concept that everyone can understand. I thought it was a cool idea.” 

Caption by Sophia Manos. Photo by Julia Copas.