Freshman Heath Church can often be found perched under the bell tower, playing guitar and singing his heart out for anyone who walks by or stops to listen.
“It’s just fun to play,” Church said. “One time I was playing and a person came over and said, ‘You made my day.’ I didn’t even know him, so it’s a just a good feeling and a good way to meet people because they’ll come over and sit down and start conversations.”
Church’s passion for guitar began after he learned to play piano. He never felt attached to piano, so he tried playing guitar, mostly because of his parents. When he was 12 years old, his parents bought him a guitar. At first Church said he did not want to play but then started messing around and writing his own music.
Since then, Church has been writing and singing on guitar. He describes his style as “alternative acoustic” and said he strives for his music to have meaning “beyond happy and sad.”
“I write about a lot of things,” Church said. “Kind of about the purpose of life sometimes, using every second wisely, or just experiences that I’ve had.”
Church has recently put a CD together that he refers to as the best of his music.
It is 12 tracks long and costs $8. Anyone interested can see Church or visit his Facebook page, where the songs are also available to listen to.
Church will also be playing through the CD at Relay for Life and said he would love to have people at the performance.
After almost seven years of playing guitar, Church could not see himself doing anything else.
“How could I not play guitar?” Church said, laughing. “It’s just such a good place to go to express yourself, even if no one’s listening.”
