Reported by Willa, Teen Press Corps~
Come on Feel the Noise panel (Frank Portman, Len Vlahos, Gayle Foreman, Kevin Emerson)
Come on Feel the Noise was a panel with Len Vlahos, Frank Portman, Gayle Forman, and Kevin Emerson, who proved to be a lively panel to watch. They covered the effects of music in their writing, their favorite songs at the moment, and their real-life bands (excluding Forman).
For Gayle Forman, author if If I Stay, music was always an emotional trigger, whether the novel was about music, or just in the background of the writing process. Kevin Emerson’s book Exile was influenced by an interaction he had while in a band in his thirties where a teenage girl became their tour manager for two weeks. Len Vlahos discussed how in Scar Boys, music is more of a rebellion rather than a method of connecting, as it is most commonly in YA. Frank Portman uses the craft of songwriting when he writes fiction (King Dork Approximately), twisting conventional subject matter into something more out of the box.
When asked about song recommendations for break ups, Forman suggested the album “Electro Shock Blues” by Eels. Emerson suggested the album that helped him breakup with a funk band he was in – “XO” by Elliot Smith, Portman’s pick was the band Sloppy Seconds, and Vlahos recommended writing with some Sheryl Crow on the side.
