You may have heard of Nirvana. You may have complained about the kid down the street who plays the drums too loud. You may have jumped around on your couch rocking the air-guitar to Led Zeppelin. You may think you know everything about local music, but if you haven’t heard of these bands, then you would be wrong.
Fringe Shift, Odd Roger, The Articles, Hazed and Jar of Rain (below): all up-and-coming bands of musically talented teens that originate right here in Bothell and Kenmore. They perform all over the Seattle area — mostly benefit concerts to raise awareness for a cause, as well as their own music.
Odd Roger consists of guitarist and vocalist Ryan Cox, guitarists Adam Croissant and Colin Roberts and drummer Andrew Dougherty. The band started just more than a year ago; it has nine original pieces and has successfully recorded five songs with three in progress.
The band Hazed started about a year ago, but has been increasingly “serious” about its music over the last three to four months. The band is compiled of lead singer Chris Kouldukis, drummer Reid Immel and guitarists Michael Collison and Prottush Hossain. Kouldukis will be attending the University of Washington in the fall. He is planning to keep the band together and “keep enjoying the music.”
Though other bands seem to be just getting started, The Articles are splitting up. Drummer Reid Immel and guitarist Joe Conquest are going away for college, leaving their bass guitarist and vocalist Sawyer Thompson with his other band, Fringe Shift. Conquest said its all up in the air as to whether they try to continue what they started next summer. The Articles had a year of success, playing several shows and gaining popularity among their peers.
Jar of Rain
Jar of Rain is an alternative rock band composed of lead guitarist Russ Thornburg, bass guitarist Julio Posada and drummer and vocalist John Thornburg. The three have been playing as a group since the winter of 2009. Their style ranges from mind-blowing and crazy to slow and comforting.
“What I say in the songs is a more honest representation of how I feel. I say what I’m too afraid to say in real life,” John said.
Now working on recording its sixth CD, Jar of Rain has come a long way with support from family and friends in booking shows and recording its music.
As far as pursuing music in the future, John says it is the “only plan” to “keep the music going and work in the music business.” Brother Russ, 14, for the time being is striving to “enjoy the music without having to think too hard about it.” Posada is utilizing his musical talent on bass guitar and wants to continue in the band.
The group is hoping for more fame down the road, but for now, the guys are loving performing the music and, as John put it, “running from corporate America.”
Fringe Shift
Fringe Shift’s three members consist of Thompson on guitar and vocals, Trey Tice on drums and Austin Knight on bass (right). Formed in 2008, the threesome has gradually gained fans throughout the Seattle area. After the dramatic increase in the number of fans during its second performance at Spotlight Studios, the band revamped its personal Web site (www.fringeshift.com) and began distributing new merchandise.
The band tries to do mostly original songs as to be remembered for its own style and skill. Tice says the best part of being in a band is “playing to a large audience that’s engaged and enjoying the show.”
Now that they’re out of high school, the band members want to do more Seattle shows and work on recording music to see where their hard work will take them. Each of them have different plans for the future, however, they are all staying nearby and want to focus on making music.
Jar of Rain and Fringe Shift frequently have shows together at locations such as The Hard Rock Café, The King Cat Theater and the Kirkland Teen Union Building. With summer boredom most likely right around the corner, maybe it’s a good time to start following some local bands.
If you want to learn more about these bands, look them up on Facebook to hear music, look up shows and more.
