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Fairport, N.Y. —
It was their love of music that first brought them together, and now four local teens are hoping to take their talent to the top.
The band is called Clearly From Negligence, and it’s made up of four friends who met while taking music lessons at Northfield Music in Pittsford. They have been playing together since 2007, and are competing in SchoolJam USA, a national battle-of-the-bands competition.
The winner gets $5,000 for their school’s music program as well as the chance to play shows at Disneyland and in Germany.
Last year, the band made it to the top 10, and got to perform before a crowd and set of judges in California. They were eliminated in that round after an equipment mishap put a speed bump in their performance.
Despite last year’s outcome, the band is optimistic about their chances this year.
“We’d really like to get back,” said lead singer and songwriter Luke Metzler.
Their music is a blend of the members’ own influences, with a little bit of Coldplay and John Mayer — all tied together with a thread of punk.
“It’s a combination of instrumentalists who are really talented,” said Metzler. “We’ve been playing together so long that there’s a good gel effect when we play live.”
And they are a talented bunch. Bassist and FHS graduate Ryan Yarmel is currently studying at the Eastman School of Music. Lead guitarist Marc Malsegna, who attends Rush-Henrietta High, plays classical violin, and drummer Alex Martens plays in the jazz band at McQuaid Jesuit.
“It’s always mayhem when we’re practicing, but we always pull it together for gigs,” said Martens.
Throw it all together and you get a uniquely polished sound with lyrics that range from the earnest teenage love ballad in “Felicity” to the upbeat tongue-in-cheek tune “Same Old Sh**.”
The band has been featured on numerous radio programs, and was even among 20 bands chosen to have their live set taped for WXXI’s “OnStage” program, set to air in January.
Earlier this month they played live on the weekly radio show, “Sunday Night Shakedown” at 98.9 The Buzz.
While their name is continuing to spread in the local music scene, the boys say they’re not just looking for attention.
“We’re not the best salesmen,” said Metzler with a smile.
In a lot of ways, they’re still kids trying to make the most of the time they have left together.
It was their love of music that first brought them together, and now four local teens are hoping to take their talent to the top.
The band is called Clearly From Negligence, and it’s made up of four friends who met while taking music lessons at Northfield Music in Pittsford. They have been playing together since 2007, and are competing in SchoolJam USA, a national battle-of-the-bands competition.
The winner gets $5,000 for their school’s music program as well as the chance to play shows at Disneyland and in Germany.
Last year, the band made it to the top 10, and got to perform before a crowd and set of judges in California. They were eliminated in that round after an equipment mishap put a speed bump in their performance.
Despite last year’s outcome, the band is optimistic about their chances this year.
“We’d really like to get back,” said lead singer and songwriter Luke Metzler.
Their music is a blend of the members’ own influences, with a little bit of Coldplay and John Mayer — all tied together with a thread of punk.
“It’s a combination of instrumentalists who are really talented,” said Metzler. “We’ve been playing together so long that there’s a good gel effect when we play live.”
And they are a talented bunch. Bassist and FHS graduate Ryan Yarmel is currently studying at the Eastman School of Music. Lead guitarist Marc Malsegna, who attends Rush-Henrietta High, plays classical violin, and drummer Alex Martens plays in the jazz band at McQuaid Jesuit.
“It’s always mayhem when we’re practicing, but we always pull it together for gigs,” said Martens.
Throw it all together and you get a uniquely polished sound with lyrics that range from the earnest teenage love ballad in “Felicity” to the upbeat tongue-in-cheek tune “Same Old Sh**.”
The band has been featured on numerous radio programs, and was even among 20 bands chosen to have their live set taped for WXXI’s “OnStage” program, set to air in January.
Earlier this month they played live on the weekly radio show, “Sunday Night Shakedown” at 98.9 The Buzz.
While their name is continuing to spread in the local music scene, the boys say they’re not just looking for attention.
“We’re not the best salesmen,” said Metzler with a smile.
In a lot of ways, they’re still kids trying to make the most of the time they have left together.
During their trip to Disney in January, they got to hang out with other bands and walk through the seven floors of music wares at the annual convention for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), which for them, was like walking into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Getting back to the next round of SchoolJam is their goal for now, but with one band member in college and the same on the horizon for Metzler and Malsegna, it’s hard to say whether this could be their last big show together.
“I guess you don’t want to think about that,” said Metzler. “You just want to enjoy playing music together because you know it might not last forever.”
