The Big Infinite brought their original music and documentary for mental wellness, “The Power of Expression” to JC. “The Power of Expression” was a special assembly for this year’s freshmen.
Jordan Lally, along with his bandmates DJ Fritzges and Andre Toney formed “The Big Infinite,” a music group, to share their personal experiences with the struggles of mental health to allow audiences to understand that they are not alone on their journey.
Mr. Lally is a JC alumnus, and he explained that throughout his high school career, he faced many challenges regarding social anxiety and depression. During that time, the stigma around mental health restricted him greatly, and he was forced to struggle alone.
After he graduated, he formed a band with members of what is now “The Big Infinite.”
The original band consisted of normal songwriters with no specific mission or value toward mental health. After a performance in Florida, Mr. Lally got news that his father had lost his battle with clinical depression leading to suicide.
Due to this tragedy, Mr. Lally found the courage to open up about his own struggles to friends and family. Over time, he turned to meditation and breathing techniques to manage his anxiety and found ways to cope through struggle. Through this, he was led to help other individuals struggling with anxiety and depression.
As he continued to voice his journey, he began receiving requests to speak at mental health events. He saw an hour of speech and presentation to be dreadful, so he turned to his band for help.
The Big Infinite began writing songs directed toward mental well-being. With lyrics and phrases to inspire any audience, they incorporated the use of personal backstory to create the Power of Expression program.
Mr. Lally founded The Ed Lally Foundation with a mission to “seek to inspire and empower individuals, families and communities to adopt a proactive approach to mental health and suicide prevention through accessible evidence-based practices of self-healing, stigma-shattering self-expression and interpersonal connection.”
The Big Infinite now leads school presentations, meditation classes, and support groups all over the country. At JC, the performance was used to show freshmen that as they begin their high school journey, they are not alone.
To open, the members of The Big Infinite led an ice breaker game for the audience. The members asked various questions surrounding mental health, and the audience was instructed to stand up if any of their statements applied to someone they knew.
Questions included: “Does anyone you know think badly of themselves?” and “Does anyone you know struggle with depression?”
Nearly everyone in the room stood up, symbolizing the fact that no one is alone on their mental health journey.
Mr. Lally began to share his personal experiences followed by playing their songs “The Lighthouse in My Head” and “Found.”
Freshman Keely Holmstrom said, “I really liked the performance; it was very motivational and gave me the resources to help the people in my life who I know are struggling.”
The assembly concluded with a Q&A session where the audience could ask the band questions about their individual journeys.