Student Rockers Thursday, January 08, 2009 By Austin Hunter - Advertising Everyone listens to music at CHS, but some students actually make the music. There are at least three successfully local bands which consist of some of Cameron's high school students. They practice, write music, and play gigs--all while also being full-time students. They're talented and dedicated to music and, best of all, they are hometown boys.   Senior Sam Macontosh is the drummer for his band "Stagger Strayt," which has been playing classic rock for about six months now. "When the band was getting formed, Mike Hammer asked If I would want to join. It's something I really got interested in," he said. Sam's band practices at Mike's house about three times a week consisting of warming up, then going over songs they have written or are rehearsing. "We've actually played at private parties, a wedding reception, a Halloween party, birthdays...we did a charity gig at my mom's work (Advance Auto Parts)," Sam also added, "Everty time we do a show we get better and we've gotten good feedback from people who hear us. I want to see where this goes." Sam said the band has had to work to accommodate each member's other schedules, too. However, they all think its important to keep going. Sam's band gets free advertising from his mom who's very supportive and tells others about the group.   Junior Jacob Chase is the drummer for his band "Breaking Dawn," which has been playing Progressive, Alternative, Rock, and Metal music for about three years. They came up with the idea in Seminar while at school in 2005 and are still at it. Band members include Ethan Miles, Nathan Thompson, and Jacob. They practice off and on through out the week, whenever they feel the need arise, at Jacob's house. "We start off with about an hour of basic jam and then we work on previous songs or music we want to become songs," Jacob explained. The band scheduled to play with another group, "Nothing but Trouble," at Relay for Life next summer. Jacob's parents think the band is cool but it's not they're style. They don't really like the music we play, though," Jacob said.   Sophomore Mylon Dice is also a drummer for his band "Image of a Stance," which has been playing for Something Something for about a year and a half. Mylon said he'd always wanted to be in a band and wanted to play guitar but ended up on the drums. He and his cousins, Derrick (lead vocals and guitar) and Jessie (bass and back-up vocals), practice every Sunday in Derrick and Jessie's basement. Their parents are supportive and Mylon's cousin's dad is the band's manager. The band recently played in Blue Springs at "The Link" and was pleased with the turnout and the response they received from the audience. The band works well together and they were able to write their first song at their first jam session. "Music is important to us and we plan on doing this for a long time. It was a lot of fun playing on stage," Mylon said.   The students have worked really hard to manage school and their bands. Their hard work seems to have paid off.

Back to the articles list