Harry and the Potters the "Rock!" into reading
Science student Joe DeGeorge '10 combines his fancy for reading, Harry Potter and rock-n-roll music into a "wizard rock" concept band that promotes literacy and learning
By Amanda Guisbond '07, M.S.C.P. '08
Photos by Tammy Woodard M.A. '98
For summer tour dates and more information visit www.eskimolabs.com/hp
Physics major Joe DeGeorge '10 is not your average undergraduate science student; not only does he moonlight as a rock star in a band, but he also shares an uncanny likeness to J.K. Rowling's literary character and movie-screen phenomenon Harry Potter.
"I was playing a show at Mass Art with my first band, Ed and the Refrigerators, and a girl in the audience yelled ‘I love you Harry Potter!'" DeGeorge explains. "My brother and I always thought we both looked like Harry Potter, so we figured we would start a band. "
DeGeorge had introduced his older brother Paul to the Harry Potter book series in 2000. They were hooked on the fantastical story. The brothers also had a passion for music, playing together in bands ever since Joe was 11-years-old —Joe plays keyboard, Paul plays guitar. So it was natural that they would venture to mingle these two loves to form a concept band in tribute to an iconic literary sensation. Thus, Harry and the Potters was born.
Pioneers of wizard rock
The concept of Harry and the Potters, DeGeorge explains, involves a dual-front man: two Harry Potters from different points in time at Hogwarts, the wizards ' school that the fictional character attended. Joe took on the identity of Harry Potter of year four; Paul took on year seven. The DeGeorge brothers loved the idea both for its absurdity as well as its feasibility within the context of the imaginary world created by Rowling.
While DeGeorge was excited at the prospect of turning Harry Potter plotlines into songs like "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock!" and "My Teacher is a Werewolf," he never imagined that the band, which began in his family's backyard on a creative whim, would become an international sensation.
Today, Harry and the Potters have performed in every U.S. state except Hawaii, as well as in England and Holland. Wikipedia calls the brothers the "pioneers of wizard rock," and the Swedish version of the Trivial Pursuit board game features a question about the DeGeorge brothers in Dutch. Translated, the answer to the question "What do brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge call themselves when they rock out?" is obvious: Harry and the Potters!
"We knew Harry Potter was a big deal, but we didn't know it was a big deal when we started the band," says DeGeorge. "We had never been to a Harry Potter fan site until people started e-mailing us about how they heard about us on ‘muggle net,' and we were like, what's a muggle net?!" For those unfamiliar with the term "muggle," it is the word wizards use to describe nonmagical humans.
Today there are around 300 bands committed to the "wizard rock" music genre. The DeGeorges' band has gained fans in all parts of the world, via word of mouth and the "muggle net." But what makes Harry and the Potters unique, beyond their early foray into a genre that was created in their wake, is their ability to combine their love of reading and rock ‘n' roll. Inspired by their literary muse, the brothers quickly found a way to put the rock into reading by performing in libraries all across the United States.
"We thought a library would be the perfect place to play a show because of the juxtaposition of the quiet place with amplified rock music. It is both absurd and awesome, " DeGeorge explains.
Rock on for literacy
DeGeorge now spends his entire summers touring with his brother. When he's not rocking out, he's equally "pumped" to be a student studying physics. DeGeorge, who looked at a number of technical schools before coming to Clark, chose the University because, unlike his experiences on other campus tours, he found the student body at Clark to be generally friendly and "smiling." And because of his busy touring schedule, he wanted to stay close to his Norwood, Mass., home.
Having played in many libraries to date, including the New York Public Library and Clark 's own Goddard Library, DeGeorge has become more aware of the impact of teen and youth programming in libraries and the need to get more kids interested in books and reading.
"We were drawn artistically to the library venue, but we also had a hankering to get kids into the library and excited about something. Harry Potter was the perfect vehicle and coincidentally we had this band around the concept of Harry Potter, " he says.
Two summers ago, the brothers came up with the idea to turn the library tour into a summer "reading and rocking" tour. The band encouraged fans to read one of a selection of books featured on their Web site. Fans, who showed up to their gigs with brief book reports based on one of the suggested readings, were awarded free toothbrushes and dental floss. While good dental hygiene might not seem like the greatest incentive, DeGeorge says the idea turned out to be a huge success and many fans took part.
"When you're young, like when you finish your first chapter book, you're so excited. You feel like you can take on anything," he says. DeGeorge says he is "totally proud" to be a part of continuing that tradition for kids as well as teens.
The DeGeorge brothers remain inspired and committed to promoting literacy and, as a result, started an EP of the month club for which all the proceeds go to a charity called First Book. First Book donates books to children in low-income families. The EP Club raised $13,000 in 2007 for the organization.
"You've got to do as much good as you can all at once in this world," says DeGeorge. Rock on!
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