Student vocalist dreams beyond engineering to express identity

Junior Creative Editor

Austin Falatek originally wanted to be an engineer, but decided to share his music with the world instead.

“I like technology stuff so I decided I would be an engineer and that sounds great, but that’s boring. I want to do something that’s fun,” said Falatek. Growing up, Falatek didn’t expect to have dreams of being a musician.

“I wasn’t really into music at all in elementary school,” said Falatek. In the middle of sixth grade Falatek moved to Lansingburgh and found immediate difficulty in the school system. “It was hard because that’s the first year everyone is mixed together, and to be taken and thrown into a new environment was kinda hard,” he said.

Falatek turned to music to comfort himself in the transition. “I needed something to drown myself out, so I started listening to music,” he said.

At the time, Falatek did not have a musical preference so he would listen to anything he could get his hands on. He started developing an interest in bands such as Green Day, Korn, and Avenged Sevenfold, which helped shape the genre he would one day find himself performing in. “I liked the heaviness of it,” he said.

After being told by his friends to learn how to scream, Falatek decided to accept the challenge. “One day it just kind of clicked for me,” said Falatek. “I was driving and I was like, ‘did I actually just do that?’ I got home and I wanted to make sure it wasn’t a fluke, so I kept practicing,” he said.

With the classes Falatek is taking, he has found a way to incorporate engineering with music with his newfound ability to fix his own equipment. “It saves us money in the long run, when we actually break everything we can fix it,” he said. Now at 19-years-old, Falatek has plans for his band, No Words To Give, to take over the world with their music.

“It’s kind of a hard mindset to get into,” he said. “Learning how to scream made me think, maybe I can do this.” Feeling inspired, Falatek started songwriting. He said, songwriting has been less challenging due to his passion for creative writing.

Falatek makes an effort to make his songs relatable. “It’s easier to write music people can relate to,” said Falatek. “Being able to relate to people without ever having to say a word to them is a pretty cool thing,” he said.

As for the future of the band, they have goals to get themselves back on track by finishing a debut EP with around six songs. “Of course the goal is to have someone like our music, get signed and go tour,” said Falatek. His ultimate goal is to play at Warped Tour, the largest traveling music festival in the nation.

If his dreams don’t come to light, Falatek keeps himself with a positive outlook on life. “I live my life a day at a time. What happened yesterday, who cares? It’s done. It’s over with,” he said. “At the same time, you have to look in the past to find the important things that people can relate to. I want to help people, and help them understand,” he said.