Musical stars arise from Newbury Park High School
From Belinda Carlisle from “The Go Gos” and Jesse James Rutherford from “The Neighbourhood,” it is no secret that NPHS has produced many musicians. Our campus is filled with talented students who even have their own bands.
Among these bands, Darwin Rowland, freshman, leads a band called “No Idea,” with fellow bandmates: Lucas Willard, freshman, Summer Jones, senior, Tommy Anthony, freshman, and TJ Elliot, eighth grader. The band has gained local fame across Camarillo, frequently performing at the El Rey Cantina, located in Camarillo’s old town. While all this fame and fortune has gotten to many rockstars’ heads, Rowland’s heart for music reigns true. “It’s a very family-driven thing [performing], but I got that gene that just loves it, and so it means a lot to me[…] It’s something I’m really good at,” Rowland said. To catch “No Idea’s” self-described “90s old stuff” music, they will be performing at the Camarillo Beer Festival on March 18th, and at the Strawberry Festival on April 28th located at Convair Street, which just so happens to be in old town Camarillo. The notoriety gained by these student bands further exemplifies their dedication to their art.
With social media being a main source of publicity in modern years, “Microscopicmoments” utilizes TikTok as a building ground to share their unique style. Lead guitarist Nat Meyer, sophomore, bassist Zoey Blair, junior, and lead vocalist Tegan Farrell, senior, members relate to their unique style of what Blair describes as the “math rock” genre of the music and uses it as a method to cope with the challenges of life, and be in tune with their emotions.
Student bands like “Microscopicmoments” allow artists to have an unprecedented opportunity to express themselves through the medium of music. “As someone who doesn’t really write lyrics, [playing the guitar is] a great way to express emotions in ways that aren’t words because sometimes you just can’t find the words to explain something, and sometimes music can describe it better,” Meyer said. Although “Microscopicmoments” is a newly formed band who found their preferred medium on TikTok, they truly prefer performing live.
Students by day and rockstars by night, the band “Just Play,” provides a space where members from many different backgrounds can perform in harmony. Davis Armstrong, senior, leads the band on the drums, David Stewart, junior, and Harry Sera, senior, on guitar, Jackson Rippon, junior, on bass, Justin Tham, senior, and Jacob Brusseau, senior, on keyboard and percussion. They are a new group who “banded together” and share their common passion for their self-described “jazz-inspired funk band.” They recently performed for the Student Musicians Showcase this March. “The only thing that really unifies us is music, [as we] don’t see each other outside of music,” Armstrong said.“There’s a lot of people who are from different walks of life and our paths have all kind of converged at this one point, to music, and that’s where we meet.”
NPHS’s thriving music scene gives musicians the opportunity to express themselves through their art. “I could be amazing at sports. I could be amazing intellectually. I’ve got the music. That’s all I need,” Rowland said.
