AJ Marto

Senior AJ Marto (he/him) is a bass guitarist in multiple music ensembles. One group specializes in jazz and the two specialize in rock. Another group Marto plays with consists of a few guys who come together to make music and explore multiple genres, but it don’t have a name yet.

“If something comes of it, maybe we will [name the band],” Marto said. “But at the moment we’re just playing jazz standards and just improvising over random chord progressions. Nothing too crazy.”

Marto started playing bass guitar during quarantine when he was 14, but music has influenced him his entire life. Marto’s dad was also a bass player in a band when he was younger.

“He was an amateur, you know. He could teach me some stuff. So, that’s really what got me started. It was just him playing. He taught me a couple of rudimentary stuff, and I taught myself from there,” Marto said.

Now, Marto practices between two to three hours a day, sometimes even six hours if he has the time on top of his academics. After high school, Marto plans to attend University of Washington Bothell to study business in case a career in music doesn’t work out. His dream job is to be a cruise ship musician because he also loves to travel. When planning for the future, Marto said he’s not looking for what a stereotypical “band life” entails. He’s not interested in eating terrible food and sleeping in the worst places. Instead, he wants to become a session musician at some point in his career.

“Say that you got Taylor Swift. She can’t play all the instruments by herself, right? She needs professionals to come in and play what’s planned for, be a hired guy. Come in, lay down the track, that’s all I want to do,” Marto said.

Although Marto has professional plans in the music industry, music means much more to him.

“For me, there’s nothing better than expressing yourself through music,” Marto said. “To be able to write your own stuff, to be able to even play other people’s stuff. It’s just great, and I feel like that’s really the motivating factor behind all of it.”

Arushi Keshwani

The School of Rock in Lynnwood is dedicated to helping students of any age or skill level pursue their musical career. Arushi Keshwani (she/her) is a sophomore who takes classes there. She plays the keyboard, and has recently started playing the guitar and practicing her vocals.

On top of gaining experience in rock music, students within the School of Rock can audition into House Band. Keshwani is in House Band and plays around Washington throughout the year with a specific group of kids. House Band is an audition-based program that renews every six months and gives School of Rock students under 18 the chance to play live shows around the community and mentor other students within the organization.

However, Keshwani is in the process of creating a band separate from House Band so she can have more musical freedom. Her band is still in the early stages, so it doesn’t have a name or a few specific instrument players. Keshwani’s band currently has two drummers and a bass player, with Keshwani as the vocalist of their growing group. Although Keshwani is in a rock band, she doesn’t listen to much rock.

“I listen to a lot of pop punk, like Paramore and stuff. But I also listened to artists like Joji and Harry Styles and stuff,” Keshwani said. “Then there’s some kids in my band who are hardcore Weezer fans or Green Day. A lot of kids like Deftones.”

Keshwani said she doesn’t plan on having a career in music. Instead, she plans to pursue medicine.

“I’d love to continue music, but I want to be a doctor,” Keshwani said. “Probably pediatrics, so I don’t think I’ll be continuing a band once out of high school. That’s why I’ve been trying to push for doing it before I get out.”

Grayson Luck

Senior Grayson Luck (he/him)’s two-man band, Booboofina, plays within the genre of Shoegaze, a subgenre of indie and alternative rock. Luck plays the guitar alongside his younger brother, who plays the drums. Currently they have a single called “Peel’’ out on Spotify, but Luck and his brother are working to create more songs and hope to eventually release a full album.

Luck has played the guitar since fourth grade and has always had an interest in creating music. Growing up, Luck and his brother played together but never recorded anything seriously until recently.

“We just went down to Guitar Center and bought a cheap microphone and were just using GarageBand. We were able to record everything on GarageBand, and we had a lot of fun doing it,” Luck said.

Luck and his brother hope to play some shows and overall have fun together in their free time. Luck said he’s unsure whether he will pursue music professionally. For now, his goal is to go to art school and pursue photography, but he hopes to continue to make and play music as a hobby.

“Honestly, it’s just me and my brother. We’re always going to play together.”