Metuchen High School teacher Adam Levy, left, worked with student Jamie Decker, right, on a CD of original music. Fellow student Gabe Franco, center, contributed to the collaborative effort. METUCHEN — When Jamie Decker graduates from Metuchen High School on June 19, she will be leaving on a high note.
The 18-year-old will hold a CD release party for her first album, “Okay, Alright,” at 7 p.m. June 18 at the First Presbyterian Church, 270 Woodbridge Ave., Metuchen.
It is appropriate that the release party and her graduation almost coincide, as she recorded the entire album at the high school with the help of English teacher Adam Levy.
In her junior year, Decker took an elective class called “Poetry of Song” with Levy, who is also a musician. Another student, Shelby Day, had written a song in that class, and they asked Decker, who has been in many talent shows and school performances, to record the vocals.
This year, they recorded a CD with Decker’s original music. Shelby came back to help them, as well.
Not only did Decker — who can’t read music — write the music and lyrics, she played most of the instruments on the recording, including ukulele, guitar, bass, keyboard and drums.
The CD consists of six original songs and a cover of the Iggy Pop song “The Passenger.” They recorded it in 40-minute intervals over a period of 10 months. The album showcases influences as divergent as Joni Mitchell, Nirvana, Radiohead, Tune-Yards and Iggy Pop.
Levy, a resident of Spotswood who has been teaching at Metuchen High School for approximately eight years, said he sees a bright future in music for Decker.
“I saw her three or four years ago singing and playing guitar in a talent show, and I knew I wanted to work with her then,” Levy said. “She has a very unique voice and most likely has perfect pitch, which is very rare.
“She can create melodies and stack melodies on top of each other, so her songs are very, very complicated. I think this is a remarkable feat on her part, to have written and recorded songs in the short amount of time that she did as really her first effort in doing something like this.”
Decker said there were a lot of opportunities to express her musical side at Metuchen High School.
“Once people heard me sing, they asked me to do Cover Night talent shows, and the drama club is very good,” she said. “We do a lot of stuff.”
The “Poetry of Song” class also has a house band — composed of current and former students of Metuchen High School — of which Decker is a part. They perform for the school and at local events, such as the Junebug ArtFest.
Decker plans to go to Middlesex County College to learn how to read music. She said she would like to pursue a career in music therapy, which blends psychology and music. She also wants to keep recording and producing original music.
“Even if I’m not able to do something else with music this big, it’s nice to know that I did try it,” she said.
“Okay, Alright” will be on CDBaby, Amazon, iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud.
A video of her performing a song from the CD will be released on YouTube. The video was recorded, edited and directed by fellow senior Melissa Leardi, who plans to pursue a career in film.
The event on June 18 will be the public’s first chance to hear what Decker has been working on all year. She will be playing tracks from the album, performing live and showing the video at the party.
“I just want to thank Mr. Levy, because I wouldn’t have been able to do this without him,” Decker said.