Greatness begins in many ways.
For Muse, it happened at a community college.
For All Time Low, it was a garage.
And for Save the Great, the legend began in the Music House School of Music.
Four-year-old alternative band Save the Great is made up of singer/guitarist senior Logan Haynes, drummer senior Grant Dickerson and bassist Hunter Sprung.
“We all started taking lessons at Music House School of Music in sixth grade,” Dickerson said. “They put bands together there, and we all ended up being in a band together as freshmen in high school.”
Dickerson said he knew Haynes somewhat from school, but their elected bassist was unknown to both of them.
“I’d heard rumors about the bassist and how he was just a big loser,” Dickerson said. “But he turned out to be pretty cool.”
For about two years, Save the Great practiced at the Music House as one of their top bands before deciding to cut ties with the company in order to pursue their own style.
Haynes said their sound has been compared mostly to American rock band Incubus and English rock band Muse.
“Logan writes all the songs, and then we’ll just show up at my house and play it,” Dickerson said.
Haynes said his best writing usually comes during late nights at home alone.
“Just, whenever I get something good, I can feel it,” Haynes said. “And then lyrics are a whole different piece. Lyric writing is a [challenge] for me. It’s just because I’m not good at expressing feelings. I’m kind of a guy. So, I have yet to figure out how to express my feelings.”
Dickerson said Haynes is getting there.Haynes said he works to write lyrics that have real meaning.
“It’s just writing about stuff that makes you mad, I guess,” he said. “Because you can’t write about, like, ‘go party’ because it doesn’t mean anything.”
Dickerson said emotion makes good lyrics.
“Write about something that means something,” Dickerson said. “That’s when you know it can connect with other people and other people can understand.”
With practices in Dickerson’s basement and frequent breaks for Fazoli’s runs for breadsticks, the band began to develop into what they are today.
As of May 21, 2013, Save the Great claims name to one official EP on iTunes entitled “Infinity.”
“It’s the most white girl title I could ever think of,” Haynes said. “I don’t know why.”
The band is also featured on Spotify and can be followed on Twitter and Facebook.
Save the Great commonly performs at local shows around Kansas.
“[My favorite] gig was Jan. 19 at the Granada [Theater], when I just collapsed on the floor after because there was so much energy,” Haynes said.
Despite gig opportunities, Haynes said the band doesn’t worry too much about getting paid.
“It depends if we stay to get paid,” he said. “We’re not really in it for the money, so we play and then we leave. It’s just boring watching the other bands.”
From open mic nights to shows at the Granada, Save the Great slowly worked its way up the musical food chain. Then, last year, bassist Sprung graduated from Blue Valley Southwest to attend Kansas State University. Haynes said the distance has been somewhat difficult for the band to work around.
“It’s just hard on writing stuff,” he said. “I just get the main structure of the song. Honestly, the best songs come from when we’re all together, writing stuff out. And for that we need all three members to be present.”
Not so long after their mild separation, in December of 2013, Haynes and Dickerson traveled to Boston to audition for a place in Berklee College of Music.
“It just seemed like the logical thing,” Haynes said. “A lot of our peers who we look up to in the music world went to [Berklee] so why not go where they went? I mean, we got in.”
“I’m going to major in Rockstar,” Dickerson added.
The ultimate goal, Dickerson and Haynes both agreed, is to make music for millions of people and to play at Wembley Stadium.
And if they don’t succeed?
Haynes said he’ll “only” be $250,000 in debt.
“I’ll just live in my parents’ basement,” Dickerson said.
Despite the pressures of the music industry, the band is confident about their chances.
As for aspiring musicians, Dickerson shared his words of wisdom.
“Don’t do your homework,” he said. “Dude, I haven’t done homework in months. Just, like, if you want to practice, practice. If you want to do it, do it.”
“I’ve spent so many nights trying to do homework and then I see my guitar in the corner and I’m just like, ‘[forget] that,’” Haynes said.
Dickerson said it’s important to go all out.
“If you want to go for it, go for it,” he said. “If that means you’re not going to do homework for a night, then don’t do homework for a night. Don’t let anything hold you back.”