“Music can certainly be so great in that it transports you into another place and mood,” said English teacher and Bald Eagles’ drummer Gregg Greentree. “Sometimes when you need it the most.”
Greentree, Jason White, Dana Durusu, Terence Donahue, and Daniel Cutshaw– English teachers by day and rockstars by night–combine their musical talents together to form an educated and mostly follically challenged band: The Bald Eagles.
The idea for the group sprouted when White and Greentree, who had first connected as coworkers at Herndon High School, began to discuss their mutual love for music. After reuniting at Lightridge and finding out that their fellow colleague, Donohue, was also a musician, the joke started to take on reality. Greentree suggested that they “form a band full of bald guys.” Later, two not-so-bald English teachers, Dana Durusu and Daniel Cutshaw, would finalize the group. Initially Greentree played guitar and took lead vocal responsibilities. Donohue and White both played guitar. When Durusu joined, she became the front-woman and Greentree moved to drums. Cutshaw, who can play a variety of instruments, became the band’s bass player.
“I said, ‘Let’s call ourselves The Bald Eagles and just play bad covers of Eagles songs!’” said Greentree. “ We quickly realized, however, after playing for the first time, that we weren’t even good enough to play Eagles songs badly, so instead we just started hanging out and playing together.”
The band appreciates the benefits of having a collaborative musical outlet.
“It’s just nice to have a creative outlet that has no expectations,” said Durusu. “It’s great to have something that I don’t do for a living to have fun with.”
“There are times when you’re playing where it starts sounding like music,” said Donohue. “Or you’re listening to each other…and you’re like, wow, we just made music. It’s shocking.”
However, band life can be difficult to manage, especially when it comes to finding the time to practice.
“We play schedule tag a lot because we all are busy and we all have things after school,” said Durusu.
It’s one of those things where you get to be an adult, you have your family, and then it’s important to carve a little time for something you want to do,” said Donohue.
The band mostly plays covers, with a focus on artists like Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young and Linda Ronstadt.
The band also creates their own material, with Donohue doing a bulk of the songwriting, but with Greentree and Cutshaw also contributing.
“Try to write your own songs,” said Greentree, when asked about the creative process. “ No matter how bad you think they are, they’re yours! They’re fantastic. They’re a real achievement.”
“Don’t be nervous. Don’t be self-conscious. Just find some people and play.”
