Student-formed bands are an important part of the Highland Park and Highwood community. They are formed so that students can pursue their passion of playing music with friends, and are a fun opportunity to contribute to the community at a wide range of levels, whether it be just with friends, local, or in front of big crowds.
Teen bands have many opportunities to play at local shows around Highland Park and Highwood: Pumpkin Fest, Highwood Wednesday Markets, Bitter Jester Music Festival, and Madame Zuzu’s Tea Shop (founded by Smashing Pumpkins’ guitarist Billy Corgan) are all places where student-formed bands have played before. Shows have also been played at other teens’ houses, such as garage shows, which typically draw a smaller crowd that is filled with teens and their friends. The smaller environment and the larger shows are both extremely fun and rewarding in their different ways for the audience and the band. Overall, student-formed bands are a lot of fun and build a special bond between teens. So, what are some of these bands, and what role do they play in our community?
One local band is Great Genna. The four members are drummer Dylan Stiller, singer and guitarist Liam Ornstein, guitarists Ryan Levi and Hunter Mann, and bassist Noah Carson.
Carson explained where the band draws their music inspiration from.
“Between all of us our music tastes span pretty broadly, so we have a lot of sources of inspiration to pull from,” Carson said.
Mostly, the band plays a form of rock music. The reason they wanted to start a band, even though they already played music individually, is because, as Mann says, “I wanted to start actually making songs, not just covers.” While Great Genna doesn’t have any shows coming up, keep an eye out for them at local music shows that may come up!
While many bands in the area find inspiration from rock like Great Genna, local bands draw inspiration from a multitude of genres. One of these bands is Swingset, and while they are unable to play any shows together now due to a member having moved away, they are still involved in music and have a lasting friendship. Swingset takes inspiration from mostly pop and pop punk music, especially the artist Beabadoobee and her album Beatopia.
Bassist Sophia Glass said, “[e]very show we’ve done has included a cover of at least one of her songs.”
Another artist that Swingset loves to do covers of is Weezer. Glass’ fellow band members include vocalist and guitarist Rin Oboza, drummer Olivia Rejano, and keyboard player Noah Melendez. Formed in 2023, the band started playing shows two months after they had been founded. They played a variety of different types of shows, including Madame Zuzu’s, the HPHS talent show, and garage shows.
When asked why she had wanted to be part of a band outside of school, Glass said: “I’ve been involved in music for so long, and I remember seeing all the garage bands in my area and thinking they were so cool. When I got the opportunity, I knew what my answer was immediately.”
The band started off when Oboza asked a few close friends to form a band, and soon they began to create music and play shows. Now, while the band is unable to see each other often, they have built a lasting friendship out of the musical opportunity and continue playing music individually.
Another band that formed around two years ago was Vincentatron. They debuted at a garage show hosted by current junior and band guitarist/vocalist Theoni Soulakis. Other members included guitarist and vocalist Connor Sasveld, bassist Alex Winer, both current freshman in college. The band never had a consistent drummer, but some band members switched around who played and current senior Dylan Stiller played for a short time. Soulakis started playing the violin in kindergarten and then transitioned to the guitar in eighth grade.
Soulakis says her band formed because “I needed my own band for a summer show. . . I found the guitarist through Instagram and then he brought in the bassist and keyboardist.”
The band played the garage show and proceeded to play at other shows, including Madame Zuzus Halloween show. While Soulakis primarily took inspiration from the Pixies and the Kinks, the band played a variety of genres, primarily rock and midwest emo. While the band can no longer play consistently due to multiple members being away in college, they still connect and continue to play music together occasionally.
Student bands don’t need to fit a certain genre and be very professional. All they need is to be composed of students who are passionate about music and want to pursue their passion outside of school. Even though HPHS offers many different musical opportunities, student-formed bands are a way for teens to spend time with their friends and play music without a lot of instruction, giving them more freedom to do what they want.
Another extremely rewarding aspect of being part of one of these bands is getting to play the shows. While they can be nerve-racking, they can also be filled with energy from the audience, who often sing and dance along. So, if you’ve been looking for a fun thing to do with friends outside of school and you love music, why not start a band?