Full of adrenaline and excitement, junior Owen Behr couldn’t believe it was happening. His nervousness quickly turned to excitement, and he was ready to get on stage and perform in front of hundreds of people. It was a high he felt coursing through him for the rest of the week. He knew he had to get back on that stage and do it again and again. Nights like this made Behr feel like he was living his dream.

“It kind of felt like I had a lot of thoughts and no thoughts at all at the same time,” Behr said. “You know, like I try and keep my mind clear, so I don’t get too nervous to overthink it.”

This would not be Behrs only time on stage however, many times Behr has played live shows with other bands of his own.

“I had a band we played three shows called Factor 13,” Behr said. “It was really cool to just look out and see all the people. I was pretty nervous I’m not gonna lie, but it really turned quickly into excitement. Every time I played, I wanted to do it more.”

Behr has been close to music from a young age. Music creation came natural to him due to his upbringing.

“My parents have been very big music listeners and concertgoers, so it’s always been around me,” Behr said.

Behr’s first instrument was the saxophone in middle school, but after learning the basics of music on that, he picked up guitar and started making music with his friends. He looked up to some bands and artists on his music journey.

“I like bands that do things their own way,” Behr said. “They don’t sell out. They Just do it because they like it.”

To make music, Behr would need a band, ideally one that doesn’t sell out. Behr started making music with his friend from middle school, senior Ashton Blaha.

“Me and Owen have been jamming for like, over a year just kind of messing around,” Blaha said.

Blaha frequents the local band scene, attending shows of bands in the area at local venues.

“The local scene has like kind of blown up right now,” Blaha said. “I saw Saturday’s slip like two weeks ago. I got punched in the face like four times. And I got pinned by this big dude. Like I got pancaked. It was really good.”

Another school artist that frequents the local scene is senior Marisa Castenada

“The local scene is really elusive,” Castenada said. “Like they’re down for pretty much whatever. Which I can appreciate that.”

Castenada makes some of her own music with a band of her own. Balancing school with the band can sometimes be a challenge.

“I noticed that like, I don’t get music because like, I was in wrestling, and that’s hard and then like on top of that I’m in AP classes,” Castenada said. “Yeah, it was it was difficult, but I pretty much stopped with that stuff now. So yeah, more time.”

Balancing school and band work can be difficult, but sometimes inspiration for songs can strike while at school. Senior Paul Smith likes to write lyrics for his own songs, and some of his best ideas have been created within the walls of the school.

“I write my best lyrics when I’m feeling some kind of emotion,” Smith said. “When I make lyrics I think of times my life, okay. And I think of how to talk about it. Like I think about extraneous ways of saying things how I feel.”

Making music in school can be a challenging yet rewarding feeling for young musicians. There are many bands in the local area that make great music, but just haven’t been discovered yet.