A new club for music lovers has recently been introduced to Glenbard South. Pass the Aux, led by seniors Bailey Cloutier and David Ankerberg, is an organization that focuses on discovering and exploring songs and albums by a variety of artists. 

Cloutier and Ankerberg, who call themselves the club’s “producers”, agreed to answer some questions regarding the creation of the club as well as their own love for music. 

The Origin Story

The idea for the club came up very naturally in a lunch table conversation between Ankerberg and Cloutier. 

“We were like, “You know what would be cool? If there was a club that just talked about music,” says Ankerberg on the first time the idea came to fruition. “It started out as a joke, but then we took it and we were like wait- this would actually be really good,” he continues. 

“It was a brilliant idea,” says Cloutier. 

The two seniors say that they put the idea into the works, but couldn’t decide on the perfect name for the club. The name ‘Pass the Aux’ was first pitched by a friend, Madelyn Baygood, at the Blue vs. White Scrimmage Night back in August. 

Spreading the Word

An informational meeting was held for the club on Thursday, September 30th. 

Ankerberg and Cloutier were pleased with the turnout there, especially because they had only promoted it through instagram. “People seemed very excited,” said Ankerberg. 

About the Club

Every week, the club focuses on three albums. 

“We rank them, and discuss why we are ranking them in what place they are in,” says Ankerberg. 

He and Cloutier plan to post polls asking what music people would like to discuss at each meeting. The two seniors want members to be the ones leading the discussion around albums, and the club will be open to discussing all kinds of music.

Says Ankerberg, “We wanted to provide a chill environment for people to talk about their music in a proud way without people bashing them for it. We wanted to give people the opportunity to talk about something they may not want to talk about anywhere else.”

Cloutier compared the club’s dynamic to a book club (minus the books).

“Whenever I mentioned it to people, they seemed very excited about it. It’s something everyone can do, you don’t have to worry about reading a book or anything… It’s a really good social outlet after a stressful week. We want people to feel comfortable and not worry about schoolwork or friends because that’s what a club is for,” said Cloutier. 

About the Leaders

Music is an important part of both Ankerberg and Cloutier’s lives. 

Same of Cloutier’s favorite artists are Taylor Swift, Cage the Elephant, Harry Styles, Phoebe Bridgers, Abba, and Tyler the Creator.

Ankerberg’s favorites are similar to that of Cloutier’s: Taylor Swift and Harry Styles along with Kanye West, Frank Ocean, Joji, Bastille, Mac Miller, and Conan Gray. 

Two songs that Ankerberg could discuss for hours are ‘Ribs’ by Lorde and ‘Little league’ by Conan Gray. “It feels so scary getting old (from the song Ribs) is the best line of all time,” says Ankerberg. 

For Cloutier, it would be the album ‘Lover’ by Taylor Swift. It has “such a deep backstory about coming out of her reputation era with a strong relationship and she’s happy.”

For Ankerberg, being a club leader was “exciting, not as stressful as I thought it would be because it’s very low key. But, there’s definitely a lot of things to think about and a lot of components to arrange before meeting, like figuring out who wants to say what.” Cloutier agrees. 

The seniors want Pass the Aux to be a club that allows people to connect through music and make new friends. Any student with a love for music is encouraged to join.  

“Music means a lot to us because when you’re trying to say something and you don’t know how to say it, you can say it through a song,” says Ankerberg. Pass the Aux is a way for people to reach this deeper level of expression and understanding. 

The club’s first meeting had been slated for Thursday, October 7th but was rescheduled to the following Thursday, October 14th due to a sponsor conflict. 

For questions regarding the club, students can contact any of the names below:

Bailey Cloutier, leader: [email protected]

David Ankerberg, leader: [email protected]

Mrs. Anderson, sponsor: [email protected]