Information

My Research:

So, I decided to branch this down into the research for each topic I'm covering.
 * My overall topic is about the social impact of the Harry Potter series.**


 * So my first topic is about the headliners** and the founders of the Wizard Rock (Wrock) genre AND community.Wizard Rock is Harry's rock genre-- his groupies he's never met. They sing about Ron and Hermione in love and Luna Lovegood's awesome levels. I watched a documentary on the Wizard Rock movement-- //We Are Wizards//-- about a boy, age 7, with a whole wizard rock fan base. His band, **The Hungarian Horntails**, screams songs about being a dragon, breathing fire, and having a tail. He jumps up and down on stage (sometimes in a dragon costume) and sings "I AM A DRAGON!!!" It's very entertaining, I must say. His Dad is also part of a Wrock band, **The Greybacks.**

His Dad recalled a time during the documentary when he had to explain to his boss that he was skipping work to go to a Wizard Rock concert-- imagine, "Uhh, yeah... My seven year old son...yeah... he has to go his wizard rock concert. He dresses up with Harry Potter Gryffindor ties and jumps up and down, singing about his Dragon Scales. And I have to skip work to go see him... And maybe sing a bit myself."

What really captures me though about the whole thing is that an actual //seven year-old// has a fanbase. And it's not just other seven year-olds, it's seventeen year-olds, //and// some are even older. I know I'd love to have that.

The wizard rock movement was started by two normal kids, Paul and Joe DeGeorge. These two kids, age 23 and 15, respectively, started their own music movement. Dressing up like two Harry Potters, their shows are exciting and prove hard to forget. They started up playing in their backyard, rocking it out in the shed. Being entagled in its seemingly neverending web, they even found themselves dumbfounded by the magic they've cast.

"Since our first show in our parent’s backyard, we have played nearly 500 shows in 49 different US states and in a handful of foreign counties. We have played in libraries, bookstores, rock clubs, theaters, galleries, museums, doughnut shops, bowling alleys, pizza places, and even a pirate-supply store." said Paul and John DeGeorge of **Harry and the Potters**. "We always try to make our shows unique and unexpected experiences that attempt to capture some of the magic of these books we love so much." (from []) ([])

This seems to be very well said on their part, I agree with them wholeheartedly. Bringing music to a book like Harry Potter just adds to the magic; I happen to be a fan myself. And it's not just some failure at trying to get by, but they actually //make a living.// Wrockers like Lauren Fairweather film videos of all the CDs they have to mail out. I watched one and it was almost a room full of CDs. Even Hank Green, John Green's brother and companion-vlogger, got famous off of a Wizard Rock Song-- media type="youtube" key="CvvFiZyEyTA" height="344" width="425"
 * (He misuses the word Hell in the video, just a warning, not a huge problem) ** that's how their video blog project kicked off, with Hank's song //"//Accio Deathly Hallows (which was released a week before the book)." It was featured on YouTube. Being featured on YouTube is like winning the New Berry award for literary excellence; hundred thousands of people see your work, and just as many love it.

Lauren Fairweather addressing envelopes: media type="youtube" key="3MymFCIWUtY" height="405" width="500"


 * My second topic is about the conventions of the fandom.**

Over the years, many aspiring wizards have gathered in places around the world. In Dallas, Texas was **Portus 2008**, ([|http://www.portus2008.org]) where many people gathered to meet new people and do many wizardly things. At **Portus**, there were many things to do, like poster making, character dissections, fan recollections (of memories with Harry Potter), making magic on a computer (graphics), costuming sessions, sorting ceremonies, ceremonial balls, and concerts.

As seen on the front of their website: **"Portus** was the place to gather with friends and explore what remained beyond the rotating doors. Literary scholars and adult fans from all over the globe converged on the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, July 10-13, 2008 for four incredible days of magic." But that was only one gathering.

Let's backtrack a little. It's 2006. Harry Potter 7 is a year from release, and excitement is on the rise. So what do you do? Have a convention, of course! (The first ever convention was **Nimbus 2003.**) **Lumos**, was held at this point in Las Vegas, Nevada. Next came **Sectus 2007**, held in July. There they celebrated the release of Deathly Hallows. **Prophecy 2007** followed. At these conventions, they most likely did a lot of similar things as **Portus**. But the conventions are so outdated now that the websites are no longer there.

Moving back to present time now. This year, **Azkatraz 2009** will be held, as will **Leakycon 2009**.

([])
 * Leakycon's** events are being kept under-the-radar. **LeakyCon** is being held by the Leaky Cauldron, a fansite. They track everything about the Harry Potter world going on, from arrests (the actor for Crabbe was arrested last week[4/13/07 is today]) to pictures of the movie set(But I'll get to this in my next section). "Our Youth Programming Department is chock full of amazing fans from the Leaky Cauldron, all of whom are 20 years old or less. Who better to know what the fans want than other fans?" says LeakyCon board members. "The events planned will be amazing, not your normal boring school type get-to-know-you games. Remember, the name of the game here is FUN."

Events at **Azkatraz** ([]) feature a Welcome Feast, Quidditch, the Wrock Festival, the "Prison Break" ball (dress up like a Marauder), a //Half-Blood Prince// movie showing (which has been sold out since February 14), a craft fair, and a pajama party. (But that's only the beginning)

Another convention in 2010 is to take place in Orlando, Florida. This convention takes place on July 15th-18th. The event is held at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Disney World, just another thing that brings the magic to life. (Note to Self: I MUST GO TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER THEME PARK.) http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/

media type="youtube" key="00U2MGu9k5U" height="344" width="425"
 * The Ministry of Magic** performing "Lovegood" at Portus '08

(I'm thinking about changing the topic to just the Leaky Cauldron, but I'm not sure.) The fansites of the fandom are a different topic in themselves, really. They contain so many diverse people and ideas. I'm just going to do direct quotes from the Leaky Cauldron, for I don't think anyone could've said it better than they.
 * My third topic is about the fansites of the Fandom, mainly the Leaky Cauldron.**

The Leaky Cauldron, [|www.the-leaky-cauldron.org] (now also available at [|www.leakynews.com]), is an all-purpose site for the Harry Potter enthusiast. It started in 2000 as a badly designed one-page roll of news; it has now turned into a destination for fan entertainment and discussion, and has become the //Harry Potter// site of record, hosting the oldest and most comprehensive //Potter// news archive on the Web.

The Leaky Cauldron also hosts the entire [|Floo Network], including the [|Harry Potter Lexicon] and [|Accio Quote]. These sites are hosted at no cost to their individual webmasters, and have been since the Floo Network’s conception. In the next few weeks, the Lexicon will move to its own server and begin to provide its own hosting.

J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter books, has called Leaky “[|my favorite fan site]” and “a wonderfully well-designed mine of accurate information on all things Harry Potter” that “attracts a lot of knowledgeable and entertaining debate.” She said it is about “[|the worst kept secret on this website that I am a huge fan].” (We’re still grinning.) Leaky has been [|recognized] in several ways over the years, but received its highest honor to date, [|J.K. Rowling’s Fan Site Award], on May 13, 2005. This personal recognition from the author of Harry Potter is a huge and cherished honor to us all. On the same day, Ms. Rowling announced that she had invited Melissa Anelli to Scotland to interview her alongside Emerson Spartz of MuggleNet; this interview was one of only three she granted in the leadup to the book (the others were to Katie Couric and TIME Magazine, not including a press conference with children she did the following day). The interview took place at her home in Edinburgh on July 16, 2005, the day that the sixth Harry Potter book was released; results may be read [|here] with Melissa’s report of the weekend [|here].

Leaky went online in July, 2000, right before the fourth Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, was released to manic response worldwide. At the time it was one of the very few sites (and is the only one from that time still operating today) to chronicle all media happenings, giving fans links to external articles about Potter. In 2001, Leaky became the first Harry Potter fans to start reporting on the franchise themselves, as the first fan site to create and maintain relationships with the main companies in charge of producing the Potter films and books, a practice which has opened doors to allow many fan sites to do the same today. Leaky is proud to have been the first and only Potter fans to report from the Chamber of Secrets movie junket and Prisoner of Azkaban film set, and to have continued to produce original reporting and a lengthy list of exclusive interviews with the people involved in the Harry Potter books and films.

Another forerunner in the Fan Site movement is MuggleNet. MuggleNet has a smaller user-base than Leaky, but is still a strong website. One turn-off about the website is the large amount of advertisement pop-ups. Going on the site is accompanied by 2, 3, or 4 pop up advertisements, and it can get tedious.


 * Emerson Spartz** currently serves as the President & CEO of MuggleNet.com. Spartz founded the MuggleNet website in 1999 as a homeschooled twelve-year-old. As CEO, he oversees 120 volunteers and a paid staff. In 2007, Spartz incorporated Spartz Inc. to serve as the legal entity representing his MuggleNet e-business. I find this amazing, because if I tried (and failed) to start a website at 13, it would be almost impossible. Some people aspire to do great things.

http://harryandthepotters.com/ **Harry and the Potters** Official Site http://wearewizards-themovie.com/ //We Are Wizards// Official website http://www.myspace.com/thegreybacks The Greybacks Band Site http://www.myspace.com/theministryofmagic The Ministry of Magic Band Site [|http://www.portus2008.org] Portus 2008 official website [] Azkatraz 2009 official website [] LeakyCon 2009 official website http://www.infinitus2010.org/ Infinitus 2010 official website http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotter/ Wizarding World of Harry Potter Theme Park website [] MuggleNet [] The Leaky Cauldron [] The Leaky Cauldron (again)

media type="custom" key="3655697" Here is Paul DeGeorge and Matt Magiaccamo of Harry and the Potters and The Whomping Willows(respectively), who are currently undergoing a project to buy as little (or no) things over the year called "No New Stuff 2009." Their project is only for things that are non-necesseties, obviously, like TV sets or video games. Every time a person from the HP alliance posts a video, the feed should update. Just click to play. Another Wrock band is the Moaning Myrtles: (from [])

"Lauren and Nina make up The Moaning Myrtles, a piano-based wizard rock band from Hillsborough, NJ. The idea for the band was sparked in November 2005 when the best friends saw Harry and the Potters play a live show and Lauren brought up how many new wizard rock bands had started. Jokingly, Nina suggested that they start a Moaning Myrtle band. Strangely enough, Myrtle was Lauren’s first choice of a character to base a band off of as well.

Myrtle was not a particularly easy choice because she does not appear too often in the books, but the girls decided that the whining bathroom ghost would be exactly what they needed. According to Lauren, “In the books, she makes really random appearances that often take you by surprise. Nobody expected her to be spying on Harry in the bathtub in The Goblet of Fire, and her friendship with Draco in The Half-Blood Prince was absolutely ridiculous. We thought she’d be the most fun to play around with because, while she’s usually pretty emotional, she’s unintentionally hilarious and is great comic relief despite how depressed she is. Which, of course, provides lots of room for us to joke around in the lyrics. ”

media type="youtube" key="UJ2mpct4Ef0" height="364" width="445" Lauren Fairweather and friend Nina of the Moaning Myrtles performing at the Wizard Rock Festival in Philly.

(from [])**
 * More information on the History of Wizard Rock:

"JK Rowling should be considered the inspiration behind wizard rock after mentioning an all-wizard band in her series. Called “The Weird Sisters,” they presumably play music about being wizards. Because of this it is considered a rule of thumb for wizard rock bands to play music of a similar theme, whether from a certain character’s perspective or just about being a wizard or witch in general.

The majority of wizard rock fans were most likely introduced to wizard rock by the group [|Harry and the Potters]. Members (and brothers) Paul and Joe DeGeorge created the band in the summer of 2002 when they gave their first live performance at a cookout in their backyard. After receiving an incredibly positive response, they continued writing Potter themed music and released their first, self-titled album the following April. They began playing shows and touring, released their second CD in the summer of 2004, and successfully brought wizard rock into the spotlight.

It was at the end of 2004 that more wizard rock bands began to emerge. It wasn’t until after Harry and the Potters’ 2005 summer tour, however, that the “movement,” as it were, truly began.

In late 2004, Matt Maggiacomo (of [|The Whomping Willows]) had been hosting a house party series in his apartment. He invited Harry and the Potters to be a part of it. A few months later in the spring of 2005, they thought it would be cool to have an entire night of wizard rock themed music. Members of [|Draco and the Malfoys] made their debut at the concert as well. They performed an incredible set and were later invited to open for [|Harry and the Potters] later that year. In October, [|Draco and the Malfoys] and [|The Whomping Willows] created accounts on the ever popular MySpace.com and contributed to the [|Harry and the Potters] and friends //A Magical Christmas of Magic// holiday compilation CD. [|The Remus Lupins] also appeared on MySpace in October. While a handful of bands existed prior to this point, over 20 were created before the end of the year after these bands hit the scene. Over 30 bands have released music since January 2006.

What most don’t realize, however, is the fact that wizard rock existed prior to Harry and the Potters. In the spring of 2000, the [|Switchblade Kittens] wrote their song “Ode to Harry” from the perspective of Ginny Weasley, which gives it the status of being a wizard rock song. They performed the song live as [|The Weird Sisters] a number of times, including at the very first //Harry Potter// symposium, [|Nimbus], in 2003. This past summer they released their first wizard rock album.

It is Harry and the Potters, though, that are credited with being responsible for the phenomenal outpouring of interest in the genre or classification.

The music of wizard rock varies in a number of ways, from recording quality to genre to subject matter. It represents different things to different people. To some, it matters very little if the recording quality or vocal and musical stylings of the performers are not accutely refined. What is most important to them is the celebration of the //Potter// series as well as the promotion of literacy. Other individuals would rather only acknowledge wizard rock bands with exceptional musical talent.

Like many other aspects of the //Harry Potter// fandom, wizard rock is at a turning point or crossroads of sorts. Many fans have found themselves becoming introspective and exploring the music and reasons behind it. One such party doing this exact thing are Megan and Mallory Schuyler, creators of the [|Wizard Rockumentary]. In July 2006, they began collecting footage for their documentary on wizard rock and the HP Fandom.

Harry and the Potters have been interviewed by newspapers (online, video, and print) and music websites a number of times, as have a handful of other bands. Several have appeared on //Harry Potter// themed podcasts, and as the “movement,” as it is so frequently called amongst its fans, continues, it is likely that they will continue to do so."

Be it noted that the HP Alliance is a non-profit organization to help people (and children alike) in need. In March, they held a non-profit House Cup competition to raise books. In this, fans and activists joined their houses they belonged to and whichever house donated the most books, wins. Books donated to local charities were worth five points, books donated to the Rwandan charity ASYV were worth 10 points, and Harry Potter books donated to ASYV were worth 15 points. (Read more on ASYV here: [])

Andrew Slack posting the results of the competition:  "In just one month, the HPA’s Accio Books! Campaign **raised 13,481 BOOKS!!!!! **WOW!!! Here are [|the results (check out cool Hogwarts style hour glass display here)] of the Accio Books! House Cup Competition: In fourth place, //Slytherin // with 7,490 points; in third place, //Hufflepuff // with 17,645 points; in a close second place //Gryffindor //<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> with 26,085 points; and lastly our winners, the ever witty and intellectual //<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Ravenclaws //<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> with 27,905 points. Congratulations Ravenclaw!!! <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Each House and Chapter did an amazing job working with their communities, this competition was a friendly and positive, and together we demonstrated our passion for bettering this world in a way that is quite simply profound. Any questions, comments, suggestions, discuss it in the [|Common Room] or email housecup@thehpalliance.org <span style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif;">Rwanda AND Sierra Leone <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The donations for Rwanda have been so incredible that we exceeded our goal by thousands. We’ll have more on this in the future, but now that Accio Books! has ended, please do not send any more books to the address we gave you in Massachusetts - if any one wants to donate books overseas we recommend sending them to Maryland and London [|where the address is at the bottom of this page]and your books will go to children in need in Sierra Leone. Though Accio Books! is over for this year, the HPA House Cup system continues and you can sign up for [|it in our Common Room!]. In the mean time, stay tuned for our upcoming campaigns around Darfur, literacy, and more! 13,481 books to people who truly need them. Congratulations to everyone who participated in Accio Books! "
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">House Cup Results **<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">

[] Harry Potter Alliance Official Site http://thehpalliance.ning.com/ Harry Potter Alliance Official Common Room [] ASYV official Site [] [] Wizrocklopedia, the Wizard Rock encyclopedia.