Erin Corrigan: A [Green] Day in the Life
A remarkable musician lives her dream onstage with Green Day and Billie Joe Armstrong's guitar.
On Tuesday, August 29th, two nights before her first day of senior year, Erin Corrigan climbed onstage and shredded “Knowledge” on the guitar of Billie Joe Armstrong, lead singer and guitarist of Green Day. Armstrong had gotten halfway through the song when he asked the screaming crowd of 30,000 if anyone knew how to play guitar. “I was right up front and raised my hand and he settled on me and asked me a few times if I really knew how to play…the security guards lifted me onto the stage,” Erin said. Erin knew how to play the song, a progression of three chords over and over. “I wasn’t scared at all but I knew that I only had two or three minutes to do everything and remember it all. I was in shock for the whole song,” she recollected. But Erin didn’t just play, she performed. Jumping off the stage, throwing her head back, and rocking out, Erin was confident, dynamic, and completely in her element.
When Erin was four years old and still toddling around, she took in the first striking chords of Green Day, completely unaware of the place the spirited band would take in her heart. Corrigan recalled,“I was kind of mesmerized by [the song]. I didn’t know what the song or band was called so I was sort of haunted by it for eight years until I finally heard it again…It was “Holiday”.” The same year that Erin heard “Holiday,” she watched in wonder as her cousin fingered the keys on his saxophone. Determinedly, Erin decided she would play alto sax when she reached fifth grade band. Erin learned the saxophone in a traditional manner with workbooks, lessons, and classical music. However, her musical career has turned out to be anything but traditional. Music quickly became how Erin filled every free moment.
In the dog days of summer before freshman year, Erin picked up her brother’s acoustic guitar and played around on it until she’d taught herself a few chords. A few months later, Erin invested in her own ES 335 electric guitar and spent a little part of every hectic day practicing. Erin taught herself everything she knows about guitar. YouTube videos were the key; she watched her favorite artists scrupulously until she could figure out where the guitarists placed their hands and then she replicated the chords. Erin dedicates an uncanny amount of time to her pieces and her music, spending up to six hours a day playing. “If I had the time, I would play guitar until my fingers bleed,” Erin said earnestly.
During her hours of strumming and improvising on the guitar, Erin produced twelve original songs, as well as fragments of 25 or 30 more. She has an acute talent for listening to a song and then recreating it on her guitar.
In the F wing of Darien High School, Erin is at home. She plays saxophone in the wind ensemble and jazz band, under the direction of band teacher Mr. Jonathan Grauer, and has been challenged by different genres of music and difficult pieces. Mr. Grauer, who has mentored Erin closely since freshman year, commented on her remarkable character: “Erin shows a commitment and passion towards band that I have rarely seen in my career. She works harder and cares more than most students that have come through this building. Whether she is shredding on stage or teaching the younger students saxophone, Erin always has music on her mind and in her heart.” Not only has Erin thrived as a sax player and pupil in her music classes, she has become close with the majority of her friends through band or other music affiliated clubs. “If the band program was cut I think I would drop out of school,” Erin said definitively.
Erin’s friends can attest to how much she is enlivened by music. Fellow band member and close friend senior Brooke Laird, upon seeing the video of Erin playing with Green Day, said, “I’ve never seen Erin happier than when she is around music. When I watched the video of her with Green Day, I knew that was the highlight of her life.”
When I asked Erin about pursuing music in college, she said, “I know that no matter what I end up doing, I’ll always be doing something with music even if it’s just playing my songs behind closed doors forever.” The opening verse of Green Day’s 2004 hit “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” reads “I walk a lonely road/The only one that I have ever known/Don’t know where it goes/But it’s home to me, and I walk alone.” I’d like to picture Erin walking this metaphorical road, anticipating the future ahead, and continuing to funnel passion and energy into her music.