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Local band will head to London for Global Battle of the Bands
JetStream, a rock band formed by four youths who met at the Paul Green School of Rock Music in Agoura Hills, won the United States Battle of the Bands challenge at the Knitting Factory in Hollywood in mid-October. The band will compete for the world title in London during a three day "heat." Winners of the world challenge stand to gain $100,000, a recording contract with a major label and a world tour, said Cheryl Zelico, the mother of drummer Ben Zelico, a 14-year-old student at Oak Park High School. "These kids are barely teenagers," Zelico said. True enough. Ben, the band's drummer, is the oldest member of the group, and Kevin Grimmett, the band's bass player, is a sixthgrader at A.C. Stelle Middle School. He turned 12 just two weeks ago. Garrett Zeile is in eighth grade at Oaks Christian School. He plays guitar and is the lead vocalist. Jake Munk, a freshman at Newbury Park High School, provides back-up vocals and also plays guitar. "It was awesome," said Ben about the group's national title. "I have a picture when we just won, and my face has the biggest smile ever." Kevin may not be sure whether becoming a rock legend is his life's goal, but he cannot deny the opportunity is exceptional. "I think it's very exciting," he said, but he doesn't want to get his hopes up too high and will take a "wait and see" attitude about the competition. The trip to London will be a first for all the boys. "I've never been to England before, and that's going to be cool," said Garrett, who's been playing guitar for four years and writing songs since he was 8. Garrett believes JetStream has an advantage over the other bands: "We're definitely the youngest of the pack," he said. "We'll go out, do the best we can and hopefully make it. "I didn't think it would happen," Jake said. "I'd like to think I'm prepared for fame, but I don't know. Anything can happen." Bands from 38 countries will compete in rounds. According to a Global Battle of the Bands spokesperson in a media report on www.gbob.com, the event is the "biggest live music competition in the world and promotes real music played by real bands as opposed to the bland manufactured bands and TV reality show disposables." Bands must abide by just two rules- no cover songs and no prerecorded music. The fastpaced competition will feature bands playing twosong, eightminute sets. With two minutes between bands, the event will feature a new band every 10 minutes. Each band must play two original songs in the competition. No problem for JetStream, since the band only performs original songs written by Ben and Garrett. Jake is happy just to have the opportunity to compete in a world arena. "I think it's huge," he said. "I even think if we don't win, something huge will happen to us. We might get discovered." If JetStream doesn't get discovered, Jake will carry on with his musical aspirations and may join his school's jazz band next semester. The song "Halfway to Happiness" was written by Garrett, but he said each member of the group added parts of their own. The lyrics capture the boys' excitement and apprehension: "You can search a thousand hours and never find what to do; it's a curse that God has placed upon you." John Grimmett, Kevin's father, said that when people watch JetStream play live, their mouths drop open and they're amazed that such young boys can play so well. "It's going to be a lot of fun just going there," Grimmett said. |
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