Made up of four Maine South seniors, The Break will play at Lincoln Hall in Chicago for members of The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter before a live viewing of the Grammy Awards.
The performance is a prime opportunity for the young group — aside from gaining more experience, members hope to catch the attention of industry professionals in the room.
“We’re pretty excited. We were on a dry spell,” said Matt Gieser, 18, the drummer of the band. “Hopefully we’ll be playing to the right ear.”
Self-taught musicians, Gieser, Paul Ansani, Miles Malin and Sean Cahill-Lemme, all of Park Ridge, formed their band in the halls of Emerson Middle School about five years ago. Their music falls somewhere in between indie rock and alternative, though they also cover songs from the Beatles to The Who to Coldplay.
Since eighth grade, the teens have spent nearly all of their free time practicing in each other’s homes, jamming on the weekends and improving their skills.
They’ve grown up together, chronicled in pictures with awkward haircuts and braces.
“You can date our era by how skinny our jeans are,” joked Ansani, 17, the group’s bassist, whose father belonged to the band Material Issue.
Though they’ve been a band for almost five years, their music careers evolved during their sophomore year when they played The Metro twice. That’s the same year they didn’t make their high school’s variety show.
As they became more established, the group created a website, recorded an album and traveled across the Midwest to play at different venues. They’ve also performed at various venues in Chicago, like Schubas, The Elbo Room and Reggie’s Rock Club. The Grammy night performance will be their second time playing Lincoln Hall.
Everything they make from shows to iTunes sales is funneled back to their music to pay for recording sessions and promotional items, like buttons and T-shirts. Often, they play for free hoping to increase their exposure and fan base.
Less than a year ago, The Break joined the Chicago Chapter, which offers a variety of events and informational sessions for its members.
Typically, the Chicago Chapter’s Grammy party features young musicians to add something fresh to the event,said Sarah Mudler, senior project manager for The Recording Academy Chicago Chapter. The Break stood out because of their music and professionalism.
“I think they’re really exciting and very put together,” Mudler said. “They had their heads on straight — that’s something we noticed here.”
Though they juggle school and performing, the teens say it’s not too overwhelming. If anything, balancing both worlds has helped them develop more intricate social skills.
“Being in the band has made us a lot more mature than kids our own age,” said Malin, 17, lead guitarist.
With graduation looming, band members said they plan to stay together though they’ll likely attend different colleges across the state. This spring, they plan on playing at the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas, and will put the finishing touches on their first official music video. During the summer, they’ll hit the East Coast for a week-long tour.
“I think it’s like a little taste of what can be,” Cahill-Lemme, the lead singer who turns 18 on Sunday, said of the Grammy party. “It’s a step and it’s a huge step and it’s awesome.”
