The Impact of Music
Humans of Chaffey
Griffin Martois, a music lover and student at Chaffey College. Photo courtesy of Griffin Martois.
Music can impact the lives of others in a plethora of ways. Songs have the ability to enhance a person’s mood, intensifying their positive and negative feelings. Music can even bring forth different memories that a person did not realize they had.
For Griffin Martois, a second-year student at Chaffey College, music has impacted his life significantly enough for him to want to pursue a career in the industry as a festival promoter. The responsibilities of a festival promoter consist of finding locations to hold music festivals, acquiring the necessary permits for it, as well as booking different musicians to perform at the festivals.
“I hope to have the opportunity someday to work with a live entertainment company, such as Live Nation or AEG Worldwide,” Martois says when asked about his dream job.
Martois' love for music began at the age of 10 when his dad took him to see KISS for the first time. Through KISS, Martois discovered bands such as Metallica, Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Slayer, which all helped contribute to his current love for rock ‘n' roll, ska, pop-punk and heavy metal.
As a child, Martois would sift through the CD collections his dad and brother shared, which led him to discover the heavier side of music, sparking his love for bands like Slip Knot, Five Finger Death Punch and Behemoth.
The older Martois became, the more his taste in music continued to diversify.
“I am so thankful for these bands because they helped me survive the entirety of middle school, as well as the beginning of high school,” says Martois.
When asked what these bands really meant to him, Martois responded with something that most music enthusiasts might relate to.
“Music is an escape for me and concerts are where I always feel the most welcomed,” Martois stated with a small smile on his face.
He then went on to explain how easy it is for him to connect with the lyrics of his favorite bands because they incorporate topics he is all too familiar with, like rebellion, not being able to fit in and even girls. To this day, the bands mentioned above continue to help Martois flee from the various struggles of his life.
When asked about other influences that music might have had on his life, Martois mentioned that his own mood tends to play a huge role when it comes to deciding which band he wants to listen to. If he is ever feeling angry, he tends to gravitate towards bands that are on the heavier side, such as Slayer. Whenever he is feeling sad, Martois almost always finds himself wanting to listen to anything by Blink-182.
Not only has music impacted Martois' life emotionally, but it has also given him plenty of exciting stories to tell. A huge grin appeared on his face as he began to recount his numerous pit-related injuries. Martois spoke about the time he traveled all the way to Chicago, Illinois just so he could see Korn, KISS and Ozzy Osbourne perform at the three-day music festival, Open Air, in July of 2017.
Martois then talked about the time he and a group of his friends went to San Bernardino’s Glen Helen Amphitheatre, where System Of A Down had performed to a sold-out show in the pouring rain. Recently, Martois watched Black Flag, another one of his favorite bands, perform in a small restaurant in a shopping mall in Montclair. He said that he could feel the ground divot as the mosh pits grew bigger and bigger.
"These amazing, and sometimes strange, experiences are truly what I live for,” Martois said, the grin on his face still very prominent.
Martois has seen a lot of bands live and has met a handful of his favorite musicians. Kerry King, Slayer’s guitarist, was his most memorable and influential encounter. These experiences are what contributed heavily to his decision to pursue a career in the music industry.
“These amazing, and sometimes strange experiences are truly what I live for,” Martois said before going into detail about what other influences music had in his career choice.
He smiled and explained that attending concerts is something that he has done for his entire life. The idea of bringing different bands and artists together in one place sounds like an absolute dream to him.
Martois feels music has impacted his life more than anything else. It has inspired him to learn how to play an instrument as well as to freely express himself through things such as band-related tattoos and a variety of edgy clothing covered in a collection of pins and patches. One of the last things Martois said was, "I have no idea how my life would be without music."