By Kit Humbarger
Features Editor
Costa English teacher David Piorek currently teaches 11th grade English and SAS, but he used to have a secret life as a rock musician, performing in a band called Lord Have Mercy On Us until his mid 20s. Now he plays the guitar and writes his own songs.
Piorek started performing in bands when he was a freshman in high school. According to Piorek, music has been a big part of his life since then.
“I was in a lot of punk bands in high school and during college,” said Piorek. “I was most notably with a band called Lord Have Mercy On Us. They were a really loud, kind of acoustic, Americana type [band] and have been semi-retired for about a decade.”
Piorek’s songwriting has developed significantly over the years, especially during his time in college. According to him, the most important part of songwriting is building on an idea for a single lyric and expanding it into a captivating story.
“I usually [get] lyrical inspiration from either things that I’m reading or what I hear other people talking about, usually things regarding literature or the Bible,” said Piorek. “I have little lines that pop into my head and then I turn them into songs.”
Piorek’s lyrics and music style evolved with him as he matured from a high schooler into a young adult. According to Piorek, his songs now are a definite improvement from his first songs in high school.
“I started [songwriting] when I was around 14, but I didn’t find my footing, especially lyrically, until I was probably in my 20s,” said Piorek. “I wrote more when I was in college because I had more time to just hang out and play guitar, but I think the quality of what I’ve written rose as I got older.”
Piorek was first intrigued by punk music in junior high. According to Piorek, prominent rock musicians of the time became heroes to him and inspired him to pursue music and performing as a serious passion.
“I got into the local punk music scene and classic punk, not only because it was something that I thought was really exciting and cool, but because it was something that was pretty accessible to do,” said Piorek. “One of the key things about punk music is that it’s not generally very hard. You don’t have to be a virtuoso at guitar to write a punk song.”
Piorek describes his music as an artistic statement. He has always been intrigued by punk music and its strong messages. According to Piorek, he believes that it was a strong influence in his teenage years.
“I like the vibrancy of the artistic expression, the variety of types of things people do, and in general the sense of rebellion,” said Piorek. “Because I grew up in a very suburban, middle-class Orange County, hearing these rebellious voices in the music was really exciting to me and that inspired me to make music of my own.”
Piorek originally produced music and performed with friends and classmates, but has since moved towards a solo career. He still releases new work from time to time, though not as much since switching to teaching.
“I played with the same people that I grew up with throughout high school, from our late teen years into our 20s, then eventually people moved away or went different ways,” said Piorek. “After that I started doing more of my own solo stuff. I get help from friends here and there, but I haven’t [been in a band] for a long time.”
Before teaching, Piorek played at multiple venues, sharing his music around Los Angeles. According to Piorek, his band Lord Have Mercy On Us performed locally for years.
“We performed in lots of bars in LA, places like the Echo, the Silver Lake Lounge, The Scene in Glendale and little art galleries in Orange County,” said Piorek. “There’s a lot of music venues in LA, and we hit up a ton of them throughout the years.”
Once upon a time, Piorek had hoped to develop his passion for rock music into something bigger. Now, his teaching career takes priority over his music. According to Piorek, his choice to end his musical career had to do with the naivety of youth.
“Part of the type of music we played was this idea that you never did any of this so that it would be economically successful,” said Piorek. “You had to almost take out any kind of ambition or success. It was always this artistic statement of rebellion and anarchy. Now that I’m older, I wish that I had spent more attention on how to make it more [successful].”
Even though Piorek has stopped creating music regularly, he has occasionally performed for his classes, usually tying the songs back to a current lesson or book being taught in his class.
“It feels a little weird to [perform] in the classroom with a captive audience,” said Piorek. “I don’t do it off the cuff, but I’ve integrated it into my lessons a couple of times. I think it’s always great when somebody comes through the classes and they have their own band and they’re excited about it.”
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