There are 1,607 kids attending JCHS this year. Lots of music listeners, over 100 in the Band Program, and over 100 in the Choir program, but how many of them actually CREATE music? Sadly there isn’t that much of a DIY music scene in JC so it’s harder to find these creators, but that’s not going to stop me! Now I’m not Star Search or American Idol but I want to see if I can find these music creators and showcase their work! So we start here with Donea Brown who goes by the stage name Mark Tyme of the Band Yenana.

Mark Tyme, 17 is senior at JCHS, and plays percussion in the Blue Jay Marching Band and Jazz Band. When she’s not spending time participating in school, she’s either working on her solo work or she’s working with the members of her and Noah Salem’s band Yenana. Not only is she cool but she is exactly who I was looking for, so I took the time to sit down with Tyme and got to know more about her and her musical projects.

So what do you do as Mark Tyme?
“I don’t really know. I’d like to consider Mark Tyme a creator. Mainly of music but not really a brand. Like I want to use whatever comes to mind you know?”

Yeah I understand that, so do you feel like Mark Tyme could release anything at any time? Like Mark Tyme is an artist of many different ideas and styles?
“Yeah absolutely! Mark Tyme comes from so many different influences and I don’t think any idea is bad when it comes to self-expression.”

How long has this been a thing?
“I spent all of middle school as a drummer looking for a band. Then I started picking other instruments over time and realized I could do it myself. I didn’t really consider myself a musician until 2 years ago.”

Aren’t you in a band now?
“Yeah I’m in band called Yenana as a drummer with some other upcoming musicians at JCHS.”

Are you guys working on music as well?
“Our front man is usually the one to lay down some foundation. The rest of us make up our parts as we go. We’re always looking for some reason to perform.”

I’ll have to check out more about them then. Do you wish there was more of a music scene in Junction City, so there would be more opportunities to perform?
“Of course! I wish there was more recognition of the talent in this city. I feel like there are so many artists of all kind that are discouraged by the current status of JC. We could always change that though.”

So that concludes the first Local Musician Feature! I plan on doing these features more often and more thorough in the future, so I’m very excited! The future of music could be in our very own school!