By: Rachel Legon

Entertainment/Lifestyle Editor

Playing an instrument in high school has stepped outside of the band room and into the garage for sophomores Danny Garcia, Brett Gilbert, Andy Hernandez, and Marc Fiol who formed the band Thanks last year. With an alternative sound drawn from all of their different musical interests, Thanks have already written and produced two songs which have been released on iTunes.

“I like playing music with other people because it makes the people listening happy,” said lead guitarist Danny Garcia.

Their two singles are on iTunes, using the website tunerecord.com, which allows musicians to release their own music without having to go through a record company or a professional producer. The lead guitarist, Danny Garcia, produces the music himself using professional software.

Thanks has proven how rock music has not completely disappeared from the high school music scene. With a sudden emergence of DJs, it seems as though playing a core instrument like the guitar or drums is becoming increasingly uncommon. Their old school approach to producing their own music out of a garage and releasing the music themselves independently has not only been a hobby to the high school band, but has allowed them to make a profit. The band has sold about 100 songs so far on iTunes and is currently growing more popular outside of the Gulliver community.

The members of the band include Garcia, guitarist and producer, Brett Gilbert, pianist, Andy Hernandez, singer and bassist, and Marc Fiol, drummer. All four members have distinctly different styles, giving their music a unique independent sound. The band writes all of their own music, but likes to model their sound off of bands like The Black Keys. Their unique sound stems from developing their music as a group.

“We start by writing chord changes and then build from there, like writing lyrics and adding in drum beats,” said Garcia.

Together, Thanks has found a way to incorporate a multitude of genres and styles in a way that makes rock music more relatable and interesting for high school students. Rock music is slowly fading out of the music industry, but alternative rock has newfound hope with bands like Thanks that introduce new styles of music to students in high school. Most emerging artists have chosen to shape their music into a pop style, but when people develop independent styles, they offer up a different genre for people to listen to.

Thanks takes the term garage band to a new level by bringing back a raw way to produce music and introducing indie alternative sounds to students.