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| Flagged Down, moves up By Stacy Trevenon--[ stacy@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, October 24, 2007 3:56 PM PDT The lead guitarist pumps out lightning chords. A drum tattoo revs up to a crescendo. A solid bass line slips in. A song is under way. Green Day live? Black Sabbath on stage? No, it's a young Coastside band called Flagged Down. The locals call those more well-known rockers influences - but these kids are barely into their teens now and they might someday topple their guitar heroes. "People are amazed - they would look at us like, 'Look at the little kids playing their instruments,'" said drummer Gabe Carhart, 14. "But now they look at us more like a band." Carhart and cohorts Devin Menzies, 13, on guitar and lead vocals and Daniel Shafir-Schorr, 14, on bass, rely on their mothers to drive them to twice-weekly practice sessions at Carhart's rural Half Moon Bay home. ("On weekends, we practically live here," chuckled Shafir-Schorr.) They worry about keeping their grades up at Sea Crest School, where all three attend eighth grade. They ponder what high school will be like. But for all that, a band they are, with levels of dedication and artistic maturity that belie their age. Bandmates overflow with energy and fresh creativity, and showcase a tight and driving sound to put older, experienced bands on alert. Actually, these teens are veterans. Their tight friendship and musicality began more than two years ago in fifth grade, when their music teacher started a student rock band, "Rewind," playing 1960s and '70s vintage music. It debuted at Cameron's Restaurant and Inn with Menzies, Shafir-Schorr and Carhart at the core, joined by fellow students Tommy Schuster, singer Elizabeth Pera, keyboardist Cody Heiner and flutist Ian Briggs. Rewind wound down but the three prospered. "If we didn't stay together (as a band), we probably wouldn't be friends," said Menzies. "Plus, we play really well together." The name "Flagged Down" evolved like its music: the boys juggled ideas until one, based on flags at a racing track, stuck. Flagged Down played at Nights of Light in 2005 and at Rock the Block, this year's Pumpkin Festival on the Family Stage - and before some 6,000 people at a convocation of area Christian churches in July at Shoreline Amphitheatre, opening for the secular portion of music. At first there were 20 to 30 listeners in the seats, but people drifted down from picnicking on the grassy hills above the bleachers. The crowd swelled to thousands. "That was a great learning experience," recalled Menzies. The crowd's sheer size was also unnerving. "By the time it was over, I felt like I was going to puke," said Shafir-Schorr. But stage fright doesn't slow Flagged Down. "No experience I've had matched my experience on stage," said Carhart, and the others nodded. Their repertoire boasts only a few covers. "We're getting better at originals," said Menzies. The boys write songs the way many bands do, but also in a way that reflects their own rapport. While warming up, or informally tossing around riffs, one will play a particular line or drum pattern or chord progression, "and we say, 'Hey, this could be a song,'" and the others chip in with musical layers, said Shafir-Schorr. They juggle verse, chorus, bridge and solos to fit each song. Much of what they play is songs, with a few instrumentals. The result is youthful rock anthems like "Burnout" or "Play Your Rock and Roll" (their first song) or Pink Floyd-influenced "Shades of Gray." The songs share a driving feel. Menzies draws sizzling yet flowing lines from his Gibson solid-body guitar, Shafir-Schorr underlines it all on his Fender bass and Carhart gets depths of pitch besides rhythm from his Gretsch drum kit. When practicing in a small room at Carhart's home, the three are a smooth musical machine. But they shine onstage where they draw smiles, tapping feet and dancing. "We're a live band," said Menzies. "We look at each other and we know what each other is thinking." "We've gotten to the point where we can anticipate and follow each other very well," said Shafir-Schorr, noting something that holds true even offstage where they finish each other's sentences. All three see a future together. "I'd like to see us playing on main stages at Pumpkin Festival, instead of as opening bands," said Shafir-Schorr. "I'm happy with how much we've changed since Shoreline," said Menzies. "We worry about college, that it'd be hard to stay together," said Menzies. "That's the only big problem I see." But education is a priority. "My mom says, make school come first, and I agree," said Menzies. "The band's fun, but we don't know for sure we're going to go far. If we get good grades, we're pretty sure we'll go on to college. "We don't want to become hotheads and think we're the best and end up on the street," he said. The band is dedicated. "This band is pretty much my life," said Carhart. |