airhead
02-19-2008, 06:05 PM
They've been called a "rare find" with a "timeless sound" — and they're only 16.
They call themselves the Late Chaps, and they won a 2007 battle of the bands in El Dorado County, Calif., before an audience of thousands, beating artists twice their age.
They use their talent for good, too: In 2006, money raised by one of their performances helped build a school in the Republic of Congo.
"There's a lot of high school kids out there, but not a lot that have really polished themselves in a band like this," says Jeff Nelson, owner of MTM Studios in Folsom, Calif., who recorded the upbeat group's demo in August.
The members of the Late Chaps are just three of the many teens who wrestle with homework, advanced-placement courses, extracurricular activities and social lives on top of being in a band. Not many can pull it off.
So how do the Late Chaps do it?
"Sometimes people get frustrated with the lack of cooperation and quit," says Kelly Schureman, the Chaps' stand-up bassist. "Most kids are pretty busy, whether it be with hobbies, sports, school or work. The better you are at balancing your time and workload, the easier it is to find time to be in a rockin' band."
In their years together as a music group, the three juniors at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, Calif., have learned how to make nice with the neighbors, keep up their grades and grapple with voice changes. If you're looking to start a band, take it from these pros: It takes work.
Founding members Sean Clavere and Tyler Walker have been performing original blues-rock tunes since they coined the Late Chaps name, inspired by British rock, when they were in eighth grade. Earlier, though, they dabbled in louder, more raucous genres.
In sixth grade, the two boys would torture Sean's parents, Della and Stephen Clavere, when they bumped ear-straining numbers in their El Dorado Hills garage using Sean's makeshift drums and Tyler's guitar.
Their first band name? The Knuckleheads, a title bestowed by their teacher Linda Meyer.
As all garage rockers know, the practice space isn't entirely soundproof. So during that time, the Claveres scheduled Knuckleheads jam sessions while neighbors were at work.
"It's being a good neighbor," says Della Clavere, 51. "And it teaches the kids to be considerate of other people."
Since then, the young multi-instrumentalists have refined their sound and moved their practice space to Sean's bedroom.
Now, neighbors like Shelly Lange, 42, enjoy catching the rock the Late Chaps produce from Sean's house. Lange, who lives across the street and runs Shelly Lange Hair Design out of her home, says the neighborhood music grabs the ears of her clients.
"When someone comes here for the first time, they'll ask 'Who is that?' and they'll say 'They're pretty good!' " Lange says. "Sometimes they've even already heard of them."
But it wasn't always that way. Often, kids are too quick to form a band, which is why Tyler advises aspiring rockers to work on their art first before trying to get together with people who've never played instruments before.
With practices three times a week and gigs at "pretty much every coffeehouse around here," the Oak Ridge juniors naturally still get their fair share of parental griping, but all three agree that it's eased as they've continued to keep their grades up to A's and B's on top of creating catchy, folk-inspired tunes.
"It's a good balance," Sean says of his mom's attitude about the band. "She says 'Have fun, but be responsible.' "
Kelly corrects him: "You mean, she says 'Have fun, but wear earplugs.' "
That's the other thing young musicians must think about, warns Della Clavere: ear damage. She bought a decibel meter for the band to use during practice so the players know when their volume is at a dangerous level. (Depending on the duration of exposure, anything above 85 decibels can cause permanent ear damage).
"My rule for Sean when he was littler was 'No earplugs, no practice,' but it's harder to enforce now that he's older. These days, I have to get scientific about it," she says.
After all, the three are constantly surrounded by live music. Sean and Tyler play with the jazz band at Oak Ridge, while Kelly is in wind ensemble.
"Basically whatever night isn't jazz band, it's Late Chaps," Sean says.
And then there's Kelly's ski team and difficult classes at school like Japanese, a course Kelly and Tyler have together.
Though, Kelly points out that Japanese class may not be as rough for Tyler thanks to a few female Chaps fans — call them "the Late Chicks" — who often beg him to play "3 AM," the group's most requested number, during class music lessons.
Who would have guessed that hormones could affect a teen band? Tyler and Sean mention that voice changes are a common challenge faced by high school musicians, but also note that it shouldn't mar a band's success.
At Tyler's and Sean's first gig ever, the sixth-grade talent show at Lake Forest Elementary, they played "99 Red Balloons" by Goldfinger, a pop-punk band that covered the '80s chart-topper by Germany's Nena. (Yes, a cover of a cover.)
"I can't really sing that high anymore," says Tyler, who adds that he had to take a break from lead vocals for a while after that.
Similarly, Sean has locked away the acoustic recordings the boys made during their first year of high school, even though they were favorites of many female fans.
"I had my freshman voice," Sean says. "So it's kind of like a Stalinist thing — I've erased it from history."
One way to manage time is to use each activity as a way to improve the other. To the Late Chaps, jazz class is just as important as their own band and helps them perform better at Chaps gigs.
Teens can even use school as a way to find lyrics and song ideas. When hitting the books, Sean wastes no time mining his AP U.S. history textbook for lyrical inspiration, writing about trains and social injustice.
But it's a reward system that helps him focus on actual schoolwork: "If I have homework, I usually make the right decision, because I know I can always play guitar in the morning," he says.
And as far as college goes, the three haven't thought about what will happen to the band when that time comes: "I'm going to try to get in where Tyler goes, but that might be hard," Sean says.
The thought of the band separating is bittersweet, but as usual, the three laugh about it before launching into a list of ideas.
"We can have, like, a cyber band," Kelly jokes.
"Yeah, we can send each other tapes and mix them all together," Sean adds.
But in the meantime, Sean, Tyler and Kelly will continue to go from one high school endeavor to the next, balancing life in ways that make it most fulfilling.
They call themselves the Late Chaps, and they won a 2007 battle of the bands in El Dorado County, Calif., before an audience of thousands, beating artists twice their age.
They use their talent for good, too: In 2006, money raised by one of their performances helped build a school in the Republic of Congo.
"There's a lot of high school kids out there, but not a lot that have really polished themselves in a band like this," says Jeff Nelson, owner of MTM Studios in Folsom, Calif., who recorded the upbeat group's demo in August.
The members of the Late Chaps are just three of the many teens who wrestle with homework, advanced-placement courses, extracurricular activities and social lives on top of being in a band. Not many can pull it off.
So how do the Late Chaps do it?
"Sometimes people get frustrated with the lack of cooperation and quit," says Kelly Schureman, the Chaps' stand-up bassist. "Most kids are pretty busy, whether it be with hobbies, sports, school or work. The better you are at balancing your time and workload, the easier it is to find time to be in a rockin' band."
In their years together as a music group, the three juniors at Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado Hills, Calif., have learned how to make nice with the neighbors, keep up their grades and grapple with voice changes. If you're looking to start a band, take it from these pros: It takes work.
Founding members Sean Clavere and Tyler Walker have been performing original blues-rock tunes since they coined the Late Chaps name, inspired by British rock, when they were in eighth grade. Earlier, though, they dabbled in louder, more raucous genres.
In sixth grade, the two boys would torture Sean's parents, Della and Stephen Clavere, when they bumped ear-straining numbers in their El Dorado Hills garage using Sean's makeshift drums and Tyler's guitar.
Their first band name? The Knuckleheads, a title bestowed by their teacher Linda Meyer.
As all garage rockers know, the practice space isn't entirely soundproof. So during that time, the Claveres scheduled Knuckleheads jam sessions while neighbors were at work.
"It's being a good neighbor," says Della Clavere, 51. "And it teaches the kids to be considerate of other people."
Since then, the young multi-instrumentalists have refined their sound and moved their practice space to Sean's bedroom.
Now, neighbors like Shelly Lange, 42, enjoy catching the rock the Late Chaps produce from Sean's house. Lange, who lives across the street and runs Shelly Lange Hair Design out of her home, says the neighborhood music grabs the ears of her clients.
"When someone comes here for the first time, they'll ask 'Who is that?' and they'll say 'They're pretty good!' " Lange says. "Sometimes they've even already heard of them."
But it wasn't always that way. Often, kids are too quick to form a band, which is why Tyler advises aspiring rockers to work on their art first before trying to get together with people who've never played instruments before.
With practices three times a week and gigs at "pretty much every coffeehouse around here," the Oak Ridge juniors naturally still get their fair share of parental griping, but all three agree that it's eased as they've continued to keep their grades up to A's and B's on top of creating catchy, folk-inspired tunes.
"It's a good balance," Sean says of his mom's attitude about the band. "She says 'Have fun, but be responsible.' "
Kelly corrects him: "You mean, she says 'Have fun, but wear earplugs.' "
That's the other thing young musicians must think about, warns Della Clavere: ear damage. She bought a decibel meter for the band to use during practice so the players know when their volume is at a dangerous level. (Depending on the duration of exposure, anything above 85 decibels can cause permanent ear damage).
"My rule for Sean when he was littler was 'No earplugs, no practice,' but it's harder to enforce now that he's older. These days, I have to get scientific about it," she says.
After all, the three are constantly surrounded by live music. Sean and Tyler play with the jazz band at Oak Ridge, while Kelly is in wind ensemble.
"Basically whatever night isn't jazz band, it's Late Chaps," Sean says.
And then there's Kelly's ski team and difficult classes at school like Japanese, a course Kelly and Tyler have together.
Though, Kelly points out that Japanese class may not be as rough for Tyler thanks to a few female Chaps fans — call them "the Late Chicks" — who often beg him to play "3 AM," the group's most requested number, during class music lessons.
Who would have guessed that hormones could affect a teen band? Tyler and Sean mention that voice changes are a common challenge faced by high school musicians, but also note that it shouldn't mar a band's success.
At Tyler's and Sean's first gig ever, the sixth-grade talent show at Lake Forest Elementary, they played "99 Red Balloons" by Goldfinger, a pop-punk band that covered the '80s chart-topper by Germany's Nena. (Yes, a cover of a cover.)
"I can't really sing that high anymore," says Tyler, who adds that he had to take a break from lead vocals for a while after that.
Similarly, Sean has locked away the acoustic recordings the boys made during their first year of high school, even though they were favorites of many female fans.
"I had my freshman voice," Sean says. "So it's kind of like a Stalinist thing — I've erased it from history."
One way to manage time is to use each activity as a way to improve the other. To the Late Chaps, jazz class is just as important as their own band and helps them perform better at Chaps gigs.
Teens can even use school as a way to find lyrics and song ideas. When hitting the books, Sean wastes no time mining his AP U.S. history textbook for lyrical inspiration, writing about trains and social injustice.
But it's a reward system that helps him focus on actual schoolwork: "If I have homework, I usually make the right decision, because I know I can always play guitar in the morning," he says.
And as far as college goes, the three haven't thought about what will happen to the band when that time comes: "I'm going to try to get in where Tyler goes, but that might be hard," Sean says.
The thought of the band separating is bittersweet, but as usual, the three laugh about it before launching into a list of ideas.
"We can have, like, a cyber band," Kelly jokes.
"Yeah, we can send each other tapes and mix them all together," Sean adds.
But in the meantime, Sean, Tyler and Kelly will continue to go from one high school endeavor to the next, balancing life in ways that make it most fulfilling.