UC High now has at least four student bands, some emerging from the UC High School Music Club, which is providing students with a means of self-expression, and the ability to play live shows.

   Some club members include Senior President Conner Platt, Sophomore Anton Gillespie, and Junior Jace Owen and the bands feature a variety of music styles ranging from blues to punk and even metal/hard rock, as well as mariachi.

   On Wednesday, January 22, the Music Club partnered with a local restaurant and venue called Fast Times to give the bands a performing platform. There was a lot that went  into planning the concert, according to Platt. “We practiced in Mr. Dante’s room mostly for all the club groups and outside school bands. I had to do a lot of planning with Fast Times, which is where we played. There was a lot to organize with the fundraiser,” said Platt.

   Altogether the four bands played approximately 30 songs. Each band played about six or more songs. Owen mentioned, “We had been preparing for this partnership since September. Some bands were still developing so they had less time than others to prepare, but they all pulled through and put on a great show that brought in an audience of over one hundred people.”

   Each band has a creative name that they came up with, each with a story behind it. For instance, Platt’s band is called If -N-When. “We started out as The Verstiles but we had to make some changes to the band. It took us a really long time to come up with the name. We came up with it because of this band called Streetlight Manifesto. They have a song called ‘If and When We Rise Again’. We took the If And When and we switched it to ‘If- N-When’,” explained Platt.

   “We are called Ballistic and we are working on a logo as well as merch. But if I had to describe us it would be a mix of thrash metal and hardcore punk. We recently had a  gig to play at a house party and we are playing at the UC Sights and Sounds program, but we only have two songs for that set. We are trying to schedule an upcoming show at Fast Times,” said Owen.

  “There is a punk band that is called The Motive. Another band is called Shark Attack; so far they have only played covers. The best performer at this whole entire school is probably Benji Davis. He plays in a band called The Honey Cats. They are a blues revival band but he is the only student in the band; the rest of the members are adults,” said Owen.

    “When you grab the mic for the first time, if you are a new artist, it will feel very weird to you at first. It takes a while for you to get adjusted. That is all a part of learning to be on stage and getting to know your audience, and that is what makes this important,” said Gillespie.

      Owen added, “Music is important to me, because I have always felt like there wasn’t a place for me to express myself, and music is my one avenue to write my feelings. To get a message out there is essential, because when I listen to the old thrash metal bands from the eighties, that is what I hear.”

       “Last year, I connected with a bunch of people in the club and it has helped me form music,” concluded Platt.