By Emily W

A lot has changed with The Vow since they performed at the Soccer Rocker and their lunchtime concert last year; down a lead singer but continuing to work hard, I spoke with the group about not only their history and inspirations, but what they see coming next.

The band is currently composed of three seniors: Charles B, Ava G, and Wes D. Charles’ girlfriend, Ariel K, was the band’s lead singer before graduating at the end of last year. Lydia P used to play keyboard for the group.

Around November last school year, Coach Rat, whose band Mayer was headlining the Soccer Rocker, said that anyone who formed a band might be able to play at the concert, which supports both the girls and boys soccer teams. Charles and Wes, having already played together, decided to go for it.

They approached Ava, who, though initially unsure, agreed. Charles also asked Ariel, after having heard her sing in the Acapella Club. Lydia would only play the Soccer Rocker, but Charles, Wes, Ava and Ariel would go on to make up the core of the band. Rehearsing for the Soccer Rocker was difficult, but they were eventually able to perform the following setlist, all covers:

Scott Pilgrim by PLUMTREE

Me and My Husband by Mitski

Carnival by Bikini Kill

Creep by Radiohead

Later additions to their set would include My Iron Lung, by Radiohead, and Cafuné’s Least Coast. But picking music for the group to play has never been easy, with every member having different tastes and musical inspirations. While Ava brings her jazz background, and is very focused on the technical aspects of playing, Wes and Charles say that Radiohead is the primary influence on the band's overall sound. They also individually credit Nirvana and The Strokes, respectively.

Since Ariel’s departure, it has been admittingly difficult to fill her shoes themselves or find a new person who can. The setback has made it difficult for the group to set up any gigs this year. So, the band has pivoted. Their goal for the end of the year is to have written an entire album of original songs, with less emphasis on the covers that got them started.

Their approach to how they write those songs has evolved with every other aspect of the band. Wes and Charles started out by improvising together, but they’ve become more methodical. Nowadays, Charles would say that he either writes lyrics first and finds a melody within them, perhaps something he played while improvising, or starts with guitar chords and then writes lyrics. He draws from his own strong emotions like love, sadness and heartbreak, whether or not he ends up showing anyone else the lyrics.

For his own lyrics, Wes finds that being an American in Germany is one of the things that inspires his music the most. The freedom of being able to go out on his own on the train, experiencing a different culture, is something he feels that you can’t replicate back in the U.S.

But what Wes and Charles both have in common is that when listening to songs, they usually hear the music before the lyrics. Perhaps that’s why, to Charles, the music is both poetry and its own instrument. Ava does not write songs herself, but does write her own bass parts and contributes ideas, such as for backing vocal parts.

The band is a democracy, but only kind of; with the change in members, and thus the group dynamic, everything is subject to change, even their name. What is likely to stay the same for The Vow, as they redefine themselves and what being in the band even means, is that they have a musical partnership that they plan to continue even after graduation.

Images courtesy of Mirabelle K. A special thank you to Mira and all of the members of The Vow for their help with this article.

Stuttgart Insider to Host March Madness Bracket Challenge

SHS Students Attend 17th Annual PRAMUN Conference

By Arianna A

This past January, Stuttgart’s Model UN students traveled to Prague for another year of negotiation and debate over the world’s issues. They returned from an overall triumphant conference with other schools around the world with many resolutions passed at the General Assembly.

The Prague Model United conference, or PRAMUN, saw the attendance of more schools and students than ever during their 17th conference. From schools across Europe, Africa, and North America, to the hosting school, Gymnázium Jana Nerudy, over 500 delegates participated in discussion, drafting, and passing of resolutions for various topics. Stuttgart’s delegates represented Algeria and China this year, passing resolutions ranging from efforts to end statelessness in the Humanitarian committee and mitigating food waste in the FAO committee. By the end of the General Assembly on the 25th, it became clear the conference had been a great success. 

Images courtesy of Dr. Olga and Emily W.

An Overview of the DC Plane Collision

By Cheyenne T

Sixty-seven people have died after a passenger plane hit a helicopter mid-air before 9 P.M. on the evening of January 29. An American Airlines plane, a Bombardier CRJ700, travelling from Wichita Kansas to Washington DC’s Reagan National Airport had collided with a US Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk that took off from Fort Belvoir. The Black Hawk had belonged to B Company, 12 Aviation Battalion.  

Top figure skaters from the United States and Russia were among those who were on board, including young figure skaters who were on their way back from a developmental camp in Wichita along with their parents and coaches. The Skating Club of Boston later named six victims. 

This midair collision is the deadliest in nearly 24 years. Most recently before this, on November 12, 2001, an American Airlines flight slammed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, NY just after takeoff from Kennedy Airport, killing all 260 people aboard and five people on the ground. 

Within hours, the fire chief in the nation’s capital said that “We are now at the point where we are switching from a rescue operation to a recovery operation.” Twenty-seven bodies from the passenger jet and one from the military helicopter have been recovered as of writing. 

Both of these flights were on standard flight patterns. The Black Hawk was on a training flight with experienced crew doing an annual required night evaluation, and the airline pilots were experienced in complex commercial flight operations. Just one day before the collision, another flight to Reagan National was forced to go around due to helicopter traffic. Both the jet and helicopter landed safely. 

The collision happened in tightly controlled airspace. A few minutes before the crash, air traffic controllers asked the helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight. A crewmember said that the aircraft was in sight and requested “visual separation” – allowing it to fly closer than usual. Controllers approved the request. 

Seconds later, the two aircraft collided. At the time of the crash, approximately 19 aircraft were diverted to Dulles International Airport.  

President Donald Trump said that he was “fully briefed” on the collision. He added that he was “monitoring the situation and will provide more details as they arise.” His statement also read, “May God Bless their souls. Thank you for the incredible work being done by our first responders.” Vice President JD Vance also addressed the collision on Wednesday night, calling to the nation to unite in prayer, asking people to “hope for the best.”