Amid the stress of school and extracurricular activities, a group of Carlmont students has found time to form a band outside of school. The group, known as the Eighth Day Band, was formed in September this year by five sophomores with the goal of creating original music and performing for others.
“We all wanted to express our creativity in new ways,” said Cody Ng, the lead guitarist for the band.
Since forming, the band has focused on finding its sound. Although the band is still in its early stages, its members are working hard to build an audience and fit practice into their busy schedules.
“We usually meet every weekend,” Ng said. “We have to get practice in, because we’re all very busy, and sometimes the schedules don’t work out.”
The band has currently recorded a few covers of songs and is working on writing their own original material.
“Some of us are coming up with the lyrics and stuff right now. It’s just in the development stage right now,” said Serra High School sophomore Ashton Samathivathanachai, the drummer for the band.
Since the band is still getting started, on SoundCloud, the Eighth Day Band currently only has one cover posted, which is of “What You Know,” by Two Door Cinema Club. They also post on their Instagram. Matthew Edwards, a Carlmont sophomore who listened to the cover, found it to be impressive.
“It was inspiring to me how a group of such young musicians was able to create music this good at such a young age, with such a professional sound,” said Edwards.
Currently, the band is looking for gigs and hopes to perform at Carlmont or elsewhere for a live audience.
“We were going to perform at the Palo Alto Children’s Theater, but some scheduling conflicts came up, and we weren’t able to do that,” Ng said. “We’re still trying to find other gigs that we could do.”
For now, the Eighth Day Band serves as a means for students to escape the demanding days of school and a platform for them to express themselves. For Samathivathanachai, the band also provides an opportunity to interact with friends whom he doesn’t see often, since he attends a different school.
“I don’t really see the others much now, so it’s nice to see them again after quite a while and bond with them,” said Samathivathanachai.
Overall, the band members are excited to continue their journey in music creation and entertain audiences.
“I’ve had the idea of starting a band for a long time, but I never really had the people to make it. So, I was stoked when I was asked to be a part of this band,” Ng said.
