Nirvana, The Kinks and The Ramones are all bands that are bound to be recognized anywhere. Their title songs have become household names for many. Besides their popularity, these bands all have one thing in common- the way they began. There are many bands that have come from a humble origins, but one of the most cliche of stories is the garage band start. There are many examples of artists starting their music career in their childhood homes. With big names beginning in a relatable place like their parents’ garage, it is of no surprise that there are examples of dreamers like them at this school.
Magnolia Avenue is one of these local garage bands inspired by bands like Nirvana. Currently, the band consists of three members: sophomore Luke Peterson on bass, sophomore Ryan Dennis on rhythms and sophomore Daniel Novoa as the lead guitarist.
“I started getting ideas of starting a band in sixth grade grade, but I never acted on it until eighth grade grade because I moved from Oregon to California,” Peterson said.
Peterson is one the original creators of the band, along with Dennis, and they rehearsed mainly in Denis’ garage whenever they could. Both Peterson and Denis were in the eighth grade when the band originally formed, which was initially named Postal.
“We started with the name Postal, but we didn’t like it so we had a vote with a bunch of friends between Magnolia Avenue, Postal, Pacific and The Middle,” Peterson said. “It all started as a small project.”
Novoa did not join until a few years later, after befriending the duo his freshman year. While every member can play multiple instruments, they currently have a spot open for a drummer. While they search for someone, they are still hopeful that they will find someone soon to help them continue playing as Magnolia Avenue. They had a drummer and another bassist in the past but they both left the band recently because of personal issues. The loss of the members put the bands progress on hold for a bit.
“The lineup seems to change every month,” Peterson said.
Novoa was good friends with the recently departed members and hopes that he will not have to say goodbye to the band as the others had to. Although the future is still cloudy for the band, he remains in high spirits.
“As of right now Magnolia is on a bit of a pause because of our members leaving recently, but I’m sure that once we find a drummer we’ll get right back to it,” Novoa said.
