{"id":55,"date":"2017-05-09T15:00:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-09T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/avada.theme-fusion.com_demos\/travel\/?post_type=avada_portfolio&#038;p=55"},"modified":"2019-04-03T02:41:50","modified_gmt":"2019-04-03T02:41:50","slug":"master-of-fun","status":"publish","type":"avada_portfolio","link":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/stories\/master-of-fun\/","title":{"rendered":"Master of Fun"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"background-color: FFFFFF;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:EAE9E9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><style type=\"text\/css\"><\/style><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-right:0px;margin-bottom:0px;margin-left:0px;\"><h1 class=\"title-heading-left fusion-responsive-typography-calculated\" style=\"margin:0;--fontSize:55;line-height:1.09;\"><h1>Master of Fun<\/h1>\n<h1><\/h1><\/h1><div class=\"title-sep-container\"><div class=\"title-sep sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:E0DEDE;\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p>By\u00a0Bridgette Cyr<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first\" style=\"width:50%;width:calc(50% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.5 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><a id=\"\" class=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-2.jpg\" data-rel=\"prettyPhoto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last\" style=\"width:50%;width:calc(50% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.5 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nick Simmons has never been one to play by the rules. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The son of two teachers, Simmons grew up in Elizabeth City, where music became an escape from small town life. \u201cWe would skip school and just go find somewhere to jam,\u201d he said while sitting in his recording studio. \u201cWe listened to a lot of \u201880s rock. Skid Row, Poison and Def Leppard. Slash was the main reason I picked up the guitar.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He became disengaged with school and dropped out of 9th grade while he became increasingly dedicated to music. \u201cI didn\u2019t hate school. It was just more fun to go out and do other things.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-3 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-3\"><p>After earning his GED and enrolling in college, Simmons emerged from school with degrees in music and education. He married his college sweetheart, and together they started a family in Raleigh.<\/p>\n<p>When his mother was diagnosed with brain cancer, the family moved back to his childhood hometown where he said he decided, &#8220;Okay, it\u2019s time to get real.&#8221; He began teaching music at Grandy Primary School and continued to grow as a musician.<\/p>\n<p>His passion for sharing music with a younger generation comes through in his work inside and out of the classroom. \u201cThe thing that gets me the most excited is when I get a new idea for a new song or come across a new riff. It\u2019s the best feeling ever. When I\u2019m on stage it\u2019s like a rush. It\u2019s like I\u2019m 10 years old up there.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-4 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:50px;margin-bottom:50px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width:100%;\"><div class=\"fusion-separator-border sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"border-color:E0DEDE;border-top-width:1px;\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling fusion-equal-height-columns\" style=\"background-color: FFFFFF;background-position: center center;background-repeat: no-repeat;padding-top:0px;padding-right:0px;padding-bottom:0px;padding-left:0px;margin-bottom: 0px;margin-top: 0px;border-width: 0px 0px 0px 0px;border-color:EAE9E9;border-style:solid;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-5 fusion_builder_column_3_5 3_5 fusion-three-fifth fusion-column-first\" style=\"width:60%;width:calc(60% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.6 ) );margin-right: 4%;margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><a id=\"\" class=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-4.jpg\" data-rel=\"prettyPhoto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-6 fusion_builder_column_2_5 2_5 fusion-two-fifth fusion-column-last\" style=\"width:40%;width:calc(40% - ( ( 4% ) * 0.4 ) );margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><a id=\"\" class=\"\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-3.jpg\" data-rel=\"prettyPhoto\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/bridgette-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-4\"><h3>&#8220;Slash was the main reason I picked up the guitar. Hearing the introduction to This Child of Mine . . . It struck a chord with me.&#8221; -Nick Simmons<\/h3>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-7 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last\" style=\"margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:20px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\" style=\"background-position:left top;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-size:cover;-moz-background-size:cover;-o-background-size:cover;background-size:cover;padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-video fusion-vimeo\" style=\"max-width:1200px;max-height:514px;\"><div class=\"video-shortcode\"><iframe title=\"Vimeo video player 1\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/218641274?autoplay=0&autopause=0\" width=\"1200\" height=\"514\" allowfullscreen allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":2514,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"portfolio_category":[50],"portfolio_skills":[],"portfolio_tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/avada_portfolio"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio\/55\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2515,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/avada_portfolio\/55\/revisions\/2515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"portfolio_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_category?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_skills","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_skills?post=55"},{"taxonomy":"portfolio_tags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cpjw.unc.edu\/2017\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/portfolio_tags?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}