To musicians, the goal of making music is to get a message across to listeners and affect them, whether by brightening their day with a joke or changing their views on the United States' two-party system. Making people think about politics is what artists like Rage Against the Machine, Pearl Jam, Eminem and U2 do every day. But does music with political overtones face more obstacles than music wit

"I honestly don't care if their music is on tune or off tune; all I care about is if they're having a good time." Tom Vornholt, owner of Franklin's Club Logos, which caters to an under-21 crowd They've come and gone for more than 40 years, but these risk-takers are still cool, original and evocative, according to music experts. In Indianapolis, they have names like The Naked Neighbors, Unikque and

Ronald Craig Jr., 17, is clear about where his love of music comes from. "I've known music before I came out the womb. I am married to music," he said. But Ronald doesn't dream of Carnegie Hall. Instead, he works to transform everyday sounds into his own unconventional art. Ronald, aka "DJ Xcel," is a beatboxer in the group MOB, which stands for "mind over body" or "master of beatboxing." Joined b

Alfred Savia tells how he started in his school band and wound up working with Indianapolis and Evansville orchestras. You may think classical music and conducting are boring. Think again. "Most likely, someone who feels that way just has not given it a chance," says Alfred Savia, the 38-year-old associate conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra. "Just give it a chance and most peopl

To many students, activities such as choir, band, color guard or athletics are an important part of their school experience. They drill and practice for hours to compete against other teams, and many say later that the experience made an impression on them. For more and more students, stepping, an African-American art form with roots in African history, has had a similar impact. Stepping groups ca

The influence of rap music is everywhere, from Grammy winners OutKast and Beyonce to Baby Phat and Sean John clothing brands. Search for "rap music" on Google, and you'll get more than 550,000 hits. But can rap's influence extend to an individual's character and decisions, as one study suggests? Teens at the Indianapolis Juvenile Correctional Facility say "no." Most of the girls listen to rap dail

For 15-year-old Lauren Slemenda, her mom's encouragement was the reason she picked up an instrument in the sixth grade. She was not sure she would like it, but soon began to love it. Last year, when her musical confidence waned, she began questioning her ability. After three or four auditions in a row at which she didn't get any of the parts, she felt defeated and wanted to quit. But she didn't. "

Parents and concerned adults have long worried about rap music's effects on children, with its sexual and sometimes violent imagery and lyrics. Now, one study of teen girls has linked large amounts of rap video viewing to risky or violent behavior. Last year, researchers from Emory University in Atlanta and the University of Alabama at Birmingham reported on a study involving 522 black females enr

B arefoot 'n' Sandals is a rock group from New Palestine with Christian values. Though band members -- Megan Stiffler, 17, Mike McCall, 17, Forrest Craig, 18, Adam Speicher, 17, and Chris Ballard, 17 -- don't fit the stereotypical rocker image, the musical influences are sound. "Just because (we) don't fall into the temptations that most rockers do, that doesn't make it any less rock," Stiffler sa

Free music! Download songs from virtually any artist at no charge! Sounds like a dream come true for budget-minded music lovers, but a nightmare for musicians trying to earn a living. Less than two years ago, consumers actually had to go to a music store and pay for music by their favorite artists. The other option was to tape songs off the radio or a borrowed CD onto a cassette, often with low-qu