By Ellie Shalvarjian
Staff Writer
Mira Costa juniors Dylan Lenze, Nico Brunstein, Omar Ahmed, and Kip Ambrose tapped into their passion for music to create the alternative-pop band called “Working on History.”
The band first started practicing over the past summer with just Ambrose, Brunstein and Ahmed. Later, the group decided that they needed a singer, so they invited Lenze to join. So far, the band has not released any formal music on platforms such as iTunes, but on December 29th of this past year the band started to post videos on YouTube. Since then, “Working on History” has posted three videos.
“Omar and I kept learning more about music, Kip was already good on the drums, and we eventually got good enough to where we thought we should perform,” Brunstein said. “None of us were good singers so I asked Dylan, who we were all friends with, to sing.”
Lenze is the lead singer of the band, Ambrose plays drums, Ahmed plays the keyboard, and Brunstein plays ukulele and bass. The band has performed at In-House Arts, a collaborative environment where students perform, but they still are trying to find additional places to perform such as restaurants and other casual environments.
“The first time performing in front of an audience, even if it’s small, is always going to be nerve wracking,” Lenze said. “However, having those experiences gave me confidence, not only to perform again, but also in my everyday life. After performing, I also feel a lot closer to the other members.”
The band members agree that most of their inspiration stems from an alternative-pop band called Twenty One Pilots. Brunstein and Ahmed were both inspired to start playing instruments in the first place because of Twenty One Pilots.
“I had just moved from Virginia and didn’t really know anyone except Nico and Omar who were in a class with me,” Ambrose said. “We didn’t really talk a whole lot until we found a common interest in Twenty One Pilots and then from there we became friends and got Dylan into the band too.”
All of the members, excluding Ambrose who has been playing drums since 2012, are relatively new at playing instruments. Many of the members picked up certain instruments just for performing. Brunstein took up bass about a month ago so he could play it during the band’s performances. The band has mostly been performing Twenty One Pilots’ covers recently, but are currently working on writing original songs.
“Performing in front of an audience has by far been the most terrifying thing that I have ever done because I don’t really do much public speaking or performing,” Ahmed said. “It is also the most fun and exciting thing that I have ever done, it’s affected me in a way that makes me feel more comfortable and connected with other people while on stage.”
The band agrees that their number one motive when performing is to make sure that the audience feels involved, welcomed, and is having fun. Ahmed said, the band all has a strong desire to create an atmosphere where everyone gets very excited.
“Whenever I go to concerts some bands perform and you just watch as if it were a movie or video,” Brunstein said. “We want everyone to sing along, clap to the beat, and even dance if they want. It’s not fun for us if the crowd isn’t enjoying themselves so our whole dynamic is that the crowd is part of the band and that hopefully everyone feels involved.”
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