By Andrew Fasano
Staff Writer
Furthering their friendship, Costa seniors Cameron Steen and Matt Hodges have found ways to play music together.
Steen and Hodges have been playing music together since they were 10 years old. Steen, who plays guitar, and Hodges, who plays drums, joined with Costa alumnus and Matt’s brother, David Hodges, who plays guitar, and Sean Matsukawa, a bassist from Torrance, one year ago to form their metal band called Kelp.
“I really enjoy being in a band and playing music with people I have similar interests with,” Steen said. “Not only is it enjoyable, but it brings us closer together, especially considering we don’t see [David] Hodges or Matsukawa all the time.”
The four began meeting to practice music due to their mutual interests. The band members decided to name themselves as an official group in Janurary 2016. They came up with the name Kelp because of its association to the beach that surrounds all four of their lives, Steen said.
“The first order of business once we created the band was coming up with a name,” Steen said. “Matt Hodges suggested something to do with the city we live in, and what better to represent it than the beach and marine life?”
Kelp began making music a year ago and has uploaded its music to various platforms such as Spotify, Soundcloud and Apple Music. The band’s single source of marketing right now is advertising its music through the members’ personal Instagram accounts.
“It’s really cool to see that some friends and local artists have been able to produce quality music for anyone to listen to,” Costa junior and Kelp fan Bobby Barkley said. “Their playing style is unique and engaging, making it appealing to myself and other fans.”
Kelp currently has an album titled “Unchanging Mind” that is available for download on both Spotify and Apple Music. The album consists of six songs, has a run time of about 30 minutes and currently has over 50 monthly listeners on Spotify. The band released the album on Dec. 24, 2016.
“I was very stoked with the way ‘Unchanging Mind’ turned out,” Matt Hodges said. “As happy as I was with it, I think I could have been a little cleaner with some of my parts. However, my favorite thing about it is how we were pretty experimental with song structure. I think it’s pretty diverse.”
Kelp played its first live performance at Amplify, a concert hall in Hollywood, approximately six months ago. Matt Hodges said that playing live is always nerve-racking at first, but once he reaches a certain comfort level after playing a few songs, that nervousness turns to adrenaline.
“My live experiences have always been fulfilling, but they always start with nervousness and then a euphoric feeling afterward,” Matt Hodges said. “My favorite thing about playing live is getting into a detached headspace and putting all my energy into it.”
High school graduation may be just months away for Matt Hodges and Steen, but they show no sign of slowing down with their band’s music. The four will continue to record music for as long as possible, and they are hoping for a professional contract with a record label at some point, Matt Hodges said.
“Our plan is to play as many shows as we can, to record more music, and of course, getting signed to a record label would be awesome as well,” Matt Hodges said.
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