Hollister
– Flipping through the radio stations in your car, mixed in with
Britney Spears and the Beatles, you might just hear the
seventh-grader who’s always practicing drums down the street from
you.
Hollister – Flipping through the radio stations in your car, mixed in with Britney Spears and the Beatles, you might just hear the seventh-grader who’s always practicing drums down the street from you.
Clips from three songs performed by the Rancho-Maze band have been played on the popular San Jose classic rock station 98.5 KFOX numerous times over the past few weeks as a part of an annual contest.
The Rancho-Maze band, which is made up of more than 100 advanced band students from the two Hollister middle schools, has entered in the KFOX School of Rock contest for the third year in a row. The band played the classic Aerosmith hit “Walk This Way,” the Fabulous Thunderbirds song “Wrap It Up” and Edgar Winter’s “Frankenstein.”
The San Jose classic rock station started the School of Rock contest in 2005. The contest challenges local middle and high school band and choir students to set aside their typical Mozart sheet music and instead to play covers of classic rock hits.
Clips from the school bands’ covers are played on the popular station, and each band entered can win a chance to play live in the studio and $3,000 for its music program.
Bailey Marks, 11, plays the bells in the Rancho-Maze band. She said she heard the radio play a clip of one of the band’s songs on the radio.
“I was thinking, ‘Oh cool! They really do play it on the radio,’ and then I pointed it out to my parents,” Marks said. She added that she hopes they win the contest so they can play live on the radio in San Jose.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity to go on the air and play the music. My parents thought that I should practice so that I didn’t make any mistakes,” Marks said.
After the contest entry deadline on April 4, KFOX listeners throughout the Bay Area will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite band. And the young Hollister musicians are hoping they’ll be chosen.
“This just gives the kids something to work toward, to be a part of,” said the band’s director, Joe Ostenson.
The Rancho-Maze band previously won in 2005 for its covers of three Queen songs.
Ostenson said many of the students in his band are not familiar with the classic rock songs he teaches them.
“I would like to think that I’m providing them with a little different music than perhaps the stuff they’re listening to on the radio today,” Ostenson said.
Alice Joy covers education for the Free Lance. She can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 336 or at
aj**@fr***********.com
