Meet the bands

Christopher Hall

Soloist: Christopher Hall, 16, plays guitar and keyboards, and sings.
School: Catalina Foothills High School

Genre: Acoustic emo indie rock with distorted vocals

Background: Hall is a self-taught musician. He got a guitar in the summer of 2003 and began playing and learning songs by Belle and Sebastian and other artists using a chord dictionary. He was briefly in a folk-pop band but prefers being a soloist.

"I realized I'm not good at being in a band," he said. "There are always conflicting opinions, and everyone fights for creative control."

He records his music on a four-track machine or uses computer programs. Hall is a volunteer at KXCI (91.3-FM). "I've always been an avid listener and record buyer," he said.

Influences: Elliott Smith, the Arcade Fire, David Bowie, the Beatles and Broken Social Scene. He also listens to the New York Dolls and Johnny Thunder.

"There are so many bands I like," he said. "I pretty much have ADD (attention-deficit disorder) when it comes to styles of music."

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be: "Iggy Pop, because he's a god," Hall said.

Goals: "I'd definitely like to get my music out there, but I know it's not a sure thing," he said. "I definitely want to be in the music industry somehow."

Affirmation of Wumpus

Members: Guitarist/singer Bob Hanshaw, 16; guitarist Alan Mackey, 17; keyboardist Charles Dorman, 16; bassist Evan Runyon, 16; drummer Daniel Behrend, 17.

School: University High School

Genre: Quirky, nontraditional rock 'n' roll

Background: The band has been together for about a year. The fact that they are five students from four different high schools (University, Sabino, Catalina Foothills and Tucson) makes coordinating schedules difficult, but the band members get together about once a week to practice, Mackey said.

The members all have very different tastes in music, which helps the band find its unusual sound. "It's not a matter of avoiding mainstream music as not avoiding anything," Hanshaw said. The band has performed at open mic nights and at school battle of the bands, but Hanshaw hopes to score more gigs. The band members are also in a techno/experimental music side project called Sound 1.

Influences: Early Pink Floyd, System of a Down, At the Drive-In, Smashing Pumpkins, the Mars Volta, Mr. Bungle.

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be: Pink Floyd, the Arcade Fire or And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead.

Goals: "We're just going to chill out with it and hopefully play some sweet gigs in town the year or so we have left before we graduate," Hanshaw said.

Andrew Collberg

Soloist: Andrew Collberg, 17, plays drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, harmonica and other percussion instruments, and he sings.

School: Catalina Foothills High School

Genre: Retro indie folk that nods to John Lennon; Simon and Garfunkel; and Elliott Smith.

Background: Multi-instrumentalist Collberg is a trained percussionist. "When I was 6 or 7, I started taking drum lessons," he said. "When I turned 12, my dad taught me some chords on the guitar, and I taught myself the rest."

Collberg has played percussion in a number of bands, including the school band and jazz band, as well as other jazz, punk, pop and experimental bands. He has been writing songs since age 7. His true passion lies in recording. "My dad and I, ever since I was a kid, have been collecting recording gear, so we kind of have a home studio in the living room," said Collberg, who has recorded more than 40 songs of his own.

Influences: Bob Dylan, John Lennon's solo material, the Kinks and other late-1960s and '70s music.

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be: "I think it would be cool to spend a day at the recording of 'Yankee Hotel Foxtrot' with Wilco."

Goals: "I've always wanted to have a really good recording studio that's open to other people but where I can record myself," he said.

Japanesian Barbie

Members: Pianist Noah Harkey, 18; drummer John Knott, 18; guitarist Travis Michazan, 18.

School: Salpointe Catholic High School

Genre: Bouncy piano-driven pop rock with genre-blurring elements of techno, jazz, blues and Latin

Background: Harkey, a senior at Mountain View High School, is a classically trained pianist. "I took lessons for 10 years and I give lessons now," he said. "I practice at least two hours a day. I just try to come up with stuff and I usually try to make it funny."

He began trying other genres two years ago when he and Michazan, a senior at Mountain Rose Academy, began jamming together. They both got college credit for taking an advanced placement class in music theory last year, which has helped them write better songs, Harkey said.

Last summer Knott, a Salpointe senior who plays guitar in the school's marching band, joined the band. A mere few months later, the trio was in Knott's bedroom using a digital eight-track to record the demos they submitted to the Battle of the Bands. The band usually performs at least once a month at Skrappy's, the Rock, Flash Gallery or Gameworks. "We don't have a set sound," Harkey said. "We try not to stick to one genre because we don't want to limit ourselves."

Influences: Weezer, Muse, Radiohead. "I like the piano player from Muse," Harkey said.

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be: "Pink Floyd - we all love them," Harkey said.

Goals: The three musicians have individual musical aspirations. "As far as our band goes, it's pretty much for fun," Harkey said.

Night Owls

Members: Guitarist/singer/ Connor Gallaher, 14; drummer Reed Porter, 15; bassist Greg Reinhart, 15.

School: Sahuaro High School

Genre: Good old-fashioned rocking blues

Background: The band started less than two years ago and has already scored some big gigs at Tucson Sidewinders games and at blues festivals in Tucson and Phoenix. They usually perform at local venues once or twice a month. "We're starting to get a lot more gigs now," Gallaher said. "The Battle of the Bands last year got a lot of people to know us."

The Night Owls recently finished their first album, 2005's "Dead End." Porter, a Tucson High School sophomore, also plays percussion in the school's steel-drum band and has taken drum lessons for four years. Gallaher, an eighth-grade student at Cross Middle School, has taken guitar lessons for five years. The band members are also part of the Arizona Jazz Academy, where they play in an R&B band.

Influences: Roy Young, Muddy Waters, Tommy Shannon. "Any old rock and blues," Reinhart, a Sahuaro High School sophomore, said.

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be? Led Zeppelin, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Miles Davis, Rush. "It's too hard to decide," Porter said.

Goals: To expose more people to the blues. "It's a root music," Reinhart said. "Everything from hip-hop to punk rock came from the blues."

Jetlag

Members: Guitarist/singer Steve Miller, 17; guitarist/singer Chris Pruden, 17; drummer Chris Ryan, 16; bassist Jeff Morris, 17.

School: Sabino High School

Genre: Good old-fashioned jamming rock 'n' roll

Background: The band members met when they played soccer together in elementary school. They eventually quit sports in favor of music. The band finally came together a year-and-a-half ago when all the members got instruments. Miller, who was raised listening to vinyl records of rock 'n' roll legends, wants to make music that nods to the greats. He has been playing guitar for five years and takes lessons. He and Pruden are both in the school choir, and all four juniors are in the school jazz band.

"We like being on stage and playing music," Miller said.

They are serious about their music and have recorded one demo and are working on another. The band won Sabino's battle of the bands last year and has performed at parties.

Influences: Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead, Oasis, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Dave Matthews Band.

If you could play music with anyone, who would it be: Jimi Hendrix

Goals: "We'd like to get a record deal in the next couple of years," Miller said. "We want to be rock stars."

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