Bailey Dean

Anyone can say they love music, not everyone can show it without saying it. Bailey Dean is one of the people who does not need to tell you he loves music. He shows his love of music in every aspect of his life. Nearly everyone in Bailey's life has a memory of him and music. 

Bailey Dean's mother, Andrea Buckingham, recalls that when he was a child he and his brother, Regan Callahan, would take totes that held their toys and make a makeshift drum set. Callahan, however, remembers the more advanced drumming they did... RockBand. Bailey Dean and his older brother would sit and play rock band on a tiny box tv for hours; seemingly never growing tired of the game or the music. 

Now, grown up, he sits at his real drum kit playing, sometimes, until his hands are bloody. When Bailey Dean is not in reach of his drum kit he can be seem tapping on everything within reach: his steering wheel, his leg, the side of a mug, or a table. "It's like he's always got a beat in his head, which ultimately makes him tap on [everything]," said Buckingham.

Royal High School's band program has helped Bailey Dean learn how to play with a level of precision and technique that RockBand had not taught him. "You'd give him feedback and he'd apply it instantly", recalled friend and former RHS Drum Line Captain, Anthony Hebdon. Another drumline member and friend, Itzi Estrada also remembers Bailey's talent to pick up a piece of music and be able to play it well in a short amount of time. The music always seemed easy for Bailey Dean to pick up, as if he understood the music better than everyone else. "It really inspired me to try my hardest when it came to concerts and parades," said Estrada. 

At the start of his senior year of high school Bailey Dean moved schools which meant a whole new high school band. The first time Bailey plays in front of new people he is always extremely timid. His new school was less into a uniformity and looking identical and more into school spirit. The band section at Moses Lake High School (MLHS) football games oozes maroon and gold in the craziest ways possible: wigs, tutus, beads, even face paint. When Bailey's first football game with his new pep band rolled around he was understandably nervous. He ended up making friends who shared their crazy gear and quickly he learned the music and came out of his shell. Bailey Dean's fellow percussionist at MLHS new found friend, Aura McWilliams, noticed him warming up and saw the moment he went from "the new kid" to, in her words "OMIGOD BAILEYYY". He was able to become comfortable in a new crowd all because of music. Later on in his senior year he got to play a guitar for a percussion ensemble rendition of "Frankenstein". McWilliams recalls their band director trying to get Bailey to, "shred". "So, of course he did and he just killed that whole performance," said McWilliams. 

Bailey Dean will tell anyone who will listen that he "LOVES" live music. A fact he's shown his friends at nearly every chance. Crystal Garcia, a friend of Bailey's spent a fair amount of her summer listening to music with him. In fact, they even got paid to listen to music together; they worked at the Gorge Amphitheater. The two got scheduled to work Paradiso, an annual music festival. On their way to the Gorge Garcia and Bailey jammed out to Skrillex: the act they were most excited for. "I could easily see how happy Bailey was, it was the type of happiness that is contagious," said Garcia. Finally, it was time to see Skrillex. During the set Bailey was fully in the music, he was soaking it up, dancing with the biggest smile on his face. Garcia finishes her story of Skrillex by paying a compliment to her friend, "I've never met anyone as kind hearted, so appreciative of music, and heartwarming as Bailey."