FEATURES

THE TEEN SCENE

by Sarah G. Lounges

LOCAL BAND ALERT!!!

     I decided that since the entire issue of Midwest BEAT focused on local
music last month and my column (like other monthly columns) was regulated to
the sidelines so that more regional artist profiles could be included, that I
would seek and find a local teen band of my own to expose to our readers.

    So I am here to tell you about a new N.W. Indiana band, O'so-EZ
(pronounced Oh So Easy), who just happen to go to my high school.

    I made productive use of my second hour study hall by taking this golden
opportunity to interview the lead singer and guitarist, Josh Drake.

     Before I get started, let me introduce you to the members of O'so-EZ:

Josh Drake- lead singer/guitarist

Fat Tony (Marzilli)- bass

Alex Ross- drums

Rich Hoekstra- saxophone

Matt Lambert- trumpet

    Let's get started...

     O'so-EZ is not Drake's first band.   When Josh's first band broke up, he
and his friends Tony and Alex started a band called, Happy Go Lucky, which
evolved through a series of name changes - The Underdog Squad and Second To
Last - before finally becoming, O'so-EZ.

    In August of 2000 the trio recruited a horn section. Drake said that with
the addition of Rich and Matt, the band is nearly complete. They are still
hoping to find a trombone player to add to the mix.

    All of the band members attend Highland High School (Josh and Rich are
juniors, Tony and Alex are sophomores, and Matt is a freshman.)

     One of the great things about this band is that they insist on focusing
on doing original material rather than take the typical high school band
approach and learn a mess of cover songs.

    "We play one or two cover songs every now and then, just for the heck of
it. Sometimes we do it for a time filler," said Drake, who is the group's
prime songwriter. "My songs range from the whole 'girl/boy scene,' to people
I know, to living with God in your life," he added. "I just write from
whatever ideas are in my head at the time."

    Their musical style is Ska. For those of you who aren't quite sure what
the term Ska covers, Josh explained. "Best described, Ska is punk derived
from reggae with no distortion, an upbeat and a horn section. The Mighty,
Mighty Bosstones are the best example I can give you of a ska band that
probably everyone in the world knows. Everyone except for the little kids
who watch Digimon."

      A lot of high school bands are started as something to do just for fun.
On the other hand, some people start bands with the intention of getting a
record deal, fulfilling a musical dream and living large on MTV. I was
curious to learn what motivated O'so-EZ and to which of those categories
they fell under.

    "I think that Matt is looking just for the fun, but I know myself, I'm
looking for the whole record deal thing because it just seems like being in a
rock band would be the most fun job in the world."

    Even though O'so-EZ may be looking to cash in on a big fat record
contract one day, Josh insists that overall, it is still about the music for
all of them.

    "We're out to have fun with our music. We are doing this for ourselves.
We're not out to impress anybody, but if we do, that's cool too."

    Like all aspiring musicians, Josh Drake has those he cites as musical
inspirations. "Green Day!," he shouts. "I absolutely love Green Day! To me
they are the best band. If you're talking about Ska, it would probably be
Less Than Jake."

   Drake thinks it's important to listen to all kinds of music.   "I listen
to absolutely everything. There's something to be found in all styles. I
listen to blues, punk, ska, skacore, hardcore, heavy metal, glam... pretty
much everything that is out there!"

    Well, almost all of it. There is one category of music that Josh says he
has no respect for - "Boy bands! All that corporate crap."

    O'so-EZ they start recording tracks for their first CD, which Drake hopes
will be out sometime after the first of the year.

     I will be the first to bring you a review of their album when it comes
out, so look for it in an upcoming issue.

BOY BANDS GET BOOKED...

   "The Ultimate Boy Band Book" from Archway Books (192 pages/$4.99) is a
pretty informative paperback. It capsulizes the careers of today's top boy
bands. Everyone is here - from The Backstreet Boys to Boyzone to my buddies
in Youngstown and BBMak gets their props in mini-biographies that span
anywhere from two to ten pages.

   This book gives a history of all the bands plus a current discography of
all the product they have released. That section not only includes what
albums they have released but it also gives a track listing for each and what
singles came from them. And there are 8 pages of full color photos of the
hottest groups!

    The book opens with a brief history of "boy bands" from The Beatles to
now! Yep...the Beatles started out as a boy band with the same kind of
screaming fans that clamor for BBMak and others today!

   Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season! C-ya in
2001!
Email it to: sarah@midwestbeat.com