Ted horrell: Musician
by hannah riggs
As many students know, Ted Horrell is not just the Germantown High School principal, but he has had some time in the spotlight of the Memphis music scene as well. While his recognition for his music may have been more recent, his love for music began long before.
“My parents started me taking cello lessons when I was maybe seven or so, but when I was in the fifth grade, I asked them if I could start taking guitar lessons,” Horrell stated.
From there, Horrell’s love of music began to grow, listening to bands like The Beatles, REM, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan for inspiration. While he continued to improve his musicianship, he eventually formed his first band right here at GHS.
“When I was a freshman in high school, I got my first band here at GHS. I wound up playing with another band called ‘Broken Silence’ my sophomore and junior year,” Horrell stated.
Horrell’s first GHS band was actually formed to play at a battle of the bands competition.
“They had a battle of the bands at Cameron Brown Park. We played two songs. We didn’t win because there were some pretty good bands there, but it was certainly fun,” Horrell stated.
From there, Horrell and his band gained a few other local gigs as well.
“We played at Germantown High School’s Winterfest back when we had a dance, and I also played at several of the churches,” Horrell stated.
Even after Horrell graduated high school and attended college, he continued to carry on his musical career. After trying to pursue his musical career in Kansas City, Horrell came back to Memphis and began teaching in the fine arts department at GHS.
“There was another teacher who taught next door to me; we both went to University of Missouri; we both were in bands there. We knew each other, so we started to play together,” Horrell stated.
While both teachers started off just writing songs together and playing acoustically, they eventually decided to make a record.
“We invited two other guys, who actually went to Germantown as well, and we had so much fun playing with them for the recording, we wound up playing with them for five years,” Horrell stated.
This band, a name some students may recognize, became known as The Central Standards. But as all good things must come to an end, the band eventually broke up.
“A couple of things happened at the same time. About the same time I got my first principal job at Millington High School, Jeff, the other lead singer, moved to Iowa City,” Horrell stated.
After The Central Standards, Horrell decided to take a break from his musical career and focus on getting situated in his new principal position. But once his first child, Fletcher, was born, Horrell decided it was time to jump back into the Memphis music scene.
“When I had my son Fletcher 19 months ago, it just occurred to me that I had been playing music most of my adult life. And I guess I just wanted him to know me as a musician too. I really just started thinking that I really didn’t want that part of my life to not be there anymore,” Horrell stated.
At the end of 2012, Horrell reunited with two of the musicians from The Central Standards as well as one other musician.
“I was still writing songs even when I wasn’t playing, so I got together with some other guys and started playing, and we decided to try to start a new band,” Horrell stated.
Horrell’s new band, The Monday Night Card, played their first show on January 20th at a location in Midtown. While no other shows are lined up currently, Horrell hopes to be able to play at venues where students will be allowed to come and see the show.
Playing music over the years, Horrell has had the opportunity to play in a number of venues across the Memphis area. But Horrell’s favorite would definitely be playing as the opening band for the 2006 Beale Street Music Festival.
“We got there because we won the Rock 103 Battle of the Bands contest. We entered and got in the top three by votes. Then we played at the Crawfish Festival and the judges picked us as the best band, so we got to open the Beale Street Music Festival,” Horrell stated.
As could be imagined, being the first band to play at such a Memphis tradition, is certainly exciting and a true honor.
“That was unbelievable. Yeah, I mean it was great. The weather was beautiful, there was a good crowd, pro sound, a huge stage, and it was tons of fun. Easily the most memorable gig,” Horrell stated.
While his days as a member of The Central Standards may be over, his musical career is certainly not. Music, one of Horrell’s longest loves, is one thing he hopes to be able to continue throughout his life.
“My parents started me taking cello lessons when I was maybe seven or so, but when I was in the fifth grade, I asked them if I could start taking guitar lessons,” Horrell stated.
From there, Horrell’s love of music began to grow, listening to bands like The Beatles, REM, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan for inspiration. While he continued to improve his musicianship, he eventually formed his first band right here at GHS.
“When I was a freshman in high school, I got my first band here at GHS. I wound up playing with another band called ‘Broken Silence’ my sophomore and junior year,” Horrell stated.
Horrell’s first GHS band was actually formed to play at a battle of the bands competition.
“They had a battle of the bands at Cameron Brown Park. We played two songs. We didn’t win because there were some pretty good bands there, but it was certainly fun,” Horrell stated.
From there, Horrell and his band gained a few other local gigs as well.
“We played at Germantown High School’s Winterfest back when we had a dance, and I also played at several of the churches,” Horrell stated.
Even after Horrell graduated high school and attended college, he continued to carry on his musical career. After trying to pursue his musical career in Kansas City, Horrell came back to Memphis and began teaching in the fine arts department at GHS.
“There was another teacher who taught next door to me; we both went to University of Missouri; we both were in bands there. We knew each other, so we started to play together,” Horrell stated.
While both teachers started off just writing songs together and playing acoustically, they eventually decided to make a record.
“We invited two other guys, who actually went to Germantown as well, and we had so much fun playing with them for the recording, we wound up playing with them for five years,” Horrell stated.
This band, a name some students may recognize, became known as The Central Standards. But as all good things must come to an end, the band eventually broke up.
“A couple of things happened at the same time. About the same time I got my first principal job at Millington High School, Jeff, the other lead singer, moved to Iowa City,” Horrell stated.
After The Central Standards, Horrell decided to take a break from his musical career and focus on getting situated in his new principal position. But once his first child, Fletcher, was born, Horrell decided it was time to jump back into the Memphis music scene.
“When I had my son Fletcher 19 months ago, it just occurred to me that I had been playing music most of my adult life. And I guess I just wanted him to know me as a musician too. I really just started thinking that I really didn’t want that part of my life to not be there anymore,” Horrell stated.
At the end of 2012, Horrell reunited with two of the musicians from The Central Standards as well as one other musician.
“I was still writing songs even when I wasn’t playing, so I got together with some other guys and started playing, and we decided to try to start a new band,” Horrell stated.
Horrell’s new band, The Monday Night Card, played their first show on January 20th at a location in Midtown. While no other shows are lined up currently, Horrell hopes to be able to play at venues where students will be allowed to come and see the show.
Playing music over the years, Horrell has had the opportunity to play in a number of venues across the Memphis area. But Horrell’s favorite would definitely be playing as the opening band for the 2006 Beale Street Music Festival.
“We got there because we won the Rock 103 Battle of the Bands contest. We entered and got in the top three by votes. Then we played at the Crawfish Festival and the judges picked us as the best band, so we got to open the Beale Street Music Festival,” Horrell stated.
As could be imagined, being the first band to play at such a Memphis tradition, is certainly exciting and a true honor.
“That was unbelievable. Yeah, I mean it was great. The weather was beautiful, there was a good crowd, pro sound, a huge stage, and it was tons of fun. Easily the most memorable gig,” Horrell stated.
While his days as a member of The Central Standards may be over, his musical career is certainly not. Music, one of Horrell’s longest loves, is one thing he hopes to be able to continue throughout his life.