Garage bands: Rockin' youth have dreams of big success

(Sentinel photo by Kelsie Anthony) Kevin Russel, Kyle Feller and Travis Payne, who recently started a band, practice and write weekly, they hope their dreams of making it big will someday become reality. [Click to enlarge]

In garages, basements, and any space availible they practice with hopes to make it big.

For Bloodshed Assurance and another newly formed band in Le Mars, their start is in a basement.

(Photo contributed) Bloodshed Assurance--Ian Johnson,Jake Garrett, Matt Wells and Karter Ewing, write Christian metal in hopes of spreading the word. [Click to enlarge]

Bloodshed Assurance, comprised of Karter Ewing, Jake Garrett, Ian Johnson who are eighth graders at LCS, and Matt Wells, a freshman at LCS, is a Le Mars garage band wanting to spread the Christian word with thier music.

"It's a mix," Johnson said about their genre, "One day we will feel hard and heavy, and then sometimes we feel like playing acoustic."

But the band considers themselves Christian metal. They would compare themselves to the well-known metal band, Metallica, but with a Christian twist.

The band chose the metal genre because they feel it is a good way to express their feelings. They want the type of listeners that won't judge them because they play metal, but that will be open minded about it.

"We want to reach out with our music and influence others with it." Wells added.

Bloodshed Assurance writes all of their own music. They start with a simple beat from Garrett, the drummer, and then each band member will add in their own parts to the song. "And Matt can write song lyrics in like 15 minutes!", they added excitedly.

When asked about the future of their band, Bloodshed Assurance said they would definitely like to make a CD, and do even more if the opportunity arised, "We can't be too serious all the time though, because then everyone gets too stressed out." Johnson added.

The band has been preparing for a performance in Hawarden on June 14. They will play at Crosswalk for Teens at 5:00 p.m. for their second performance together.

Kyle Feller and Travis Payne, both seniors at Le Mars Community High School, and Kevin Russel, a Junior from Remsen St. Mary's have just started a new band.

Feller, Payne and Russel, although newly formed, practice about six hours a week in a small corner of Feller's basement and are still looking to expand. "We are still looking for another guitarist and a bassist." Feller said with a laugh.

The message of their music is to be yourself and be 'chill'. They want to show others that it is better to express yourself, and not to act like something you're not.

"We just want to be ourselves." Feller said.

When asked what band they aspire to be like Payne replied, "I don't really write like other artists."

They want to make their own Hardcore sound, but compared themselves to popular bands in the Hardcore scene, Attack! Attack! and The Devil Wears Prada.

The boys started years ago in the 8th grade just to have fun, it wasn't until recently that they began to take their music more seriously.

"I'd love to get big." Feller stated, "I want to play everywhere."

The band wants people to realize that garage bands put a lot of work into what they do, and not to judge these groups so soon.

"Every band starts out as a garage band, even the ones we listen to now." Russel said, "You just have to give them a chance."

Feller, Payne and Russel hope to have performance set up for the end of June.

Both bands have dreams to make it big some day, and Ewing said it well, "Dreams can take you a long way."