Voldermort certainly cannot “stop the rock”, and brothers Paul and Joe DeGeorge are out to prove that. Born in the summer of 2002 out of last minute desperation, Harry and the Potters, a “Wizard-rock” band hailing from Boston, Massachusetts, began by writing their first 7 songs over the course of just one hour. Joe had scheduled a rock show in their shed only to find out that the bands had cancelled last minute. It was then, on that morning that the brothers banded together and cooked up the Literature-rock based idea behind Harry and the Potters. “We fought over who was going to be Harry Potter in the band,” Joe said, In the end they both decided to be Harry Potter but different years. He remarked that it seemed to be a fair idea “…Rather than using time travel for that possibility.”
The band’s discographical repertoire consists of three albums, two 7” vinyls, and a Christmas CD packed with parodiable anthems and ballads based on the plot of the Harry Potter series. Their music has not only found it’s loyal following from devoted fans of the books, but has been made legendary on the Internet community as well. On Myspace alone they’ve had over 3,000,000 plays in the course of two years.
Touring with other independently managed bands across the east coast, fans have been awed by their spontaneous and lively stage presence. Their live influences range from big-show bands such as Andrew W.K to The Flaming Lips. With a variety of interactive props ranging from bubbles to heart-shaped balloons, and energetic songs requiring crowd participation such as “S.P.E.W.” it is hard not to be intoxicated with joy while being enthralled in the audience. The band’s charisma is undeniable.
Over the years books such as J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series have constantly been associated with controversy revolving around it’s theme of witchcraft and wizardry. Some organizations go so far as to label it as “workings of the devil”, exclaiming that it should be stripped from children’s reading. Joe recalls one situation in which a girl at a show in Ohio was explaining to him about how she had come to read the books in secret because her parents wouldn't allow her to. “It’s kind of like in the past, when people used to burn books. People just do it out of ignorance, not knowing that it’s just a story of good and evil.” Joe stated, “It’s just weird, and counter-productive.”
The brothers both believe strongly in the freedom of knowledge and publication and recently played a benefit show in Fayetteville, Arkansas for a local reading group defending that very right. A woman had been fighting to remove books with references to controversial subjects such as homosexuality from the community’s library. The group was trying to counter the effects and stop any removal of the books, in order to preserve the rights of sharing common knowledge.
With the New Year ahead, the band plans to keep rocking with an 8-10 week tour through Canada and another set of shows during spring break. They’re looking forward to J.k Rowling’s new book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and plan on being at home in Boston this year to throw a huge party on the night of the release."2007 is supposed to be the year of a million dreams," Joe said with a grin "so we're going to try and make as many dreams come true as possible."
Harry and the Potters: Voldemort Can't stop the Rock
Harry and the Potters: The Human Hosepipe
