Powell Gets Musical

James Powell ‘11 is major­ing in voice and piano perfor­mance. He is also hard at work performing with his band, the InterUnited Band, with which he has toured extensively, in­cluding in China. Powell and his band perform a form of upbeat, positive rock music that can be either fun or re­laxing. Powell performs key­board, guitar and lead vocals.

“I started playing key­board and singing in the wor­ship band at my church when I was 12,” said Powell. “I write most songs about love. I be­lieve love is what life is all about, so most everything I write is about love. My rela­tionship with God represents the first and greatest love sto­ry, so that comes out in my lyr­ics as well.”

Powell’s singing style is very earnest and he also shows that he has a fine sense of melody that is not lacking in positivity and can portray it as he means it. His voice is clear and it would be no surprise if many a listener can sing along to it upon first listen.

Powell and the Inter­United Band’s philosophy is based on the Inter-United Foundation’s mission to “cre­ate friendships through the love of music and soccer in our community and around the world.” Powell further shared, “Inter-United Foun­dation is a non-profit organi­zation that my father started [for] promoting friendship across borders.”

Powell is also a Chinese minor and studied abroad last semester in Shanghai, China. “After the semester, I stayed for a month longer and flew the InterUnited Band in to meet me in southern China, where we toured the Yun­nan Province,” he said. “We played for crowds of thou­sands of students. I translated five of my songs into Chinese and performed them along with English songs.” The mel­odies are catchy and the en­ergy is evident in the music. Two EPs have been released to date: Smile, from 2009, and Alivia, released in 2010.

“Me and the InterUnit­ed Band will be touring this summer with youth camps from May 22 to Aug. 1 with an organization called Stu­dent Life,” said Powell. “My goal is to become even more fluent in Chinese, tour all of China as a living and to spread friendship and love across the nations through the vehicle of music.” In this en­deavor, no doubt he will have huge support, as his music and personality are positive and uplifting. My personal fa­vorites are: “Smile,” from the EP of the same name, due to its ambience and an ethereal, melodic feel which I am par­tial to; and “Don’t Stop,” from Alivia, which had a good mix of energy and atmosphere. Fans of light, energetic rock music will not be disappoint­ed with Powell’s music.

James Powell ‘11 is major­ing in voice and piano perfor­mance. He is also hard at work performing with his band, the InterUnited Band, with which he has toured extensively, in­cluding in China. Powell and his band perform a form of upbeat, positive rock music that can be either fun or re­laxing. Powell performs key­board, guitar and lead vocals.

“I started playing key­board and singing in the wor­ship band at my church when I was 12,” said Powell. “I write most songs about love. I be­lieve love is what life is all about, so most everything I write is about love. My rela­tionship with God represents the first and greatest love sto­ry, so that comes out in my lyr­ics as well.”

Powell’s singing style is very earnest and he also shows that he has a fine sense of melody that is not lacking in positivity and can portray it as he means it. His voice is clear and it would be no surprise if many a listener can sing along to it upon first listen.

Powell and the Inter­United Band’s philosophy is based on the Inter-United Foundation’s mission to “cre­ate friendships through the love of music and soccer in our community and around the world.” Powell further shared, “Inter-United Foun­dation is a non-profit organi­zation that my father started [for] promoting friendship across borders.”

Powell is also a Chinese minor and studied abroad last semester in Shanghai, China. “After the semester, I stayed for a month longer and flew the InterUnited Band in to meet me in southern China, where we toured the Yun­nan Province,” he said. “We played for crowds of thou­sands of students. I translated five of my songs into Chinese and performed them along with English songs.” The mel­odies are catchy and the en­ergy is evident in the music. Two EPs have been released to date: Smile, from 2009, and Alivia, released in 2010.

“Me and the InterUnit­ed Band will be touring this summer with youth camps from May 22 to Aug. 1 with an organization called Stu­dent Life,” said Powell. “My goal is to become even more fluent in Chinese, tour all of China as a living and to spread friendship and love across the nations through the vehicle of music.” In this en­deavor, no doubt he will have huge support, as his music and personality are positive and uplifting. My personal fa­vorites are: “Smile,” from the EP of the same name, due to its ambience and an ethereal, melodic feel which I am par­tial to; and “Don’t Stop,” from Alivia, which had a good mix of energy and atmosphere. Fans of light, energetic rock music will not be disappoint­ed with Powell’s music.