Max Rabbitt – The Riot

Max Rabbitt, a Paly junior, unleashes his musical talent alongside fellow bandmates. The Riot, a rising alternative rock band, consists of Paly sophomores Clay Cudahy, Dexter Cleveringa and junior Max Rabbitt who collectively do vocals, play guitar, rhythm guitar and drums. 

Rabbitt’s love for music stems from his musically talented family. His father was a musician and introduced Rabbitt to his old instruments. 

“I can’t even think about what it would be like if I didn’t have music,” Rabbitt said. 

Rabbitt draws inspiration from The Killers and various folk artists to fuel his creativity and diversify his music tastes. In January of 2021, he joined The Riot to continue experimenting with music. Working together as a band provides a platform for creative minds to come together and produce a song that resonates with the audience. 

“The songs [we produce] always end up being a conglomeration of what we listened to,” Rabbitt said.

Despite the thrills of participating in a rock band together, the band faces many challenges. Because The Riot is independently signed, the members have to navigate through the complex world of producing alone. 

“It takes a lot of time and we want to play shows, but recording takes time away from playing shows,” Rabbitt said. “That’s definitely been a drag.”

Over the past year and a half, the band has solidified a method for crafting their music. To begin the process, Cudahy writes the vocals for the song while each member focuses on melodies for their respective instruments. 

“I put a melody over and then put [the parts] together that would be the root of the song,” Rabbitt said. “Then I’ll show it to the band or Clay will show it to the band.” 

Each member then meshes their musical visions together, fine-tuning the tracks for the drum and bass section. 

“Rather than if you’re doing it solo, [in a band] you’ll have different musical backgrounds and different things that we do together,” Rabbitt said. “We can make something that’s more [diverse].” 

Next, inside their recording studio, the band meets to finalize the song. With the aid of Logic music software, the team records the audio live and edits the clips. After hours of modifying tracks and live recordings, the band showcases their hard work in intimate outdoor performances. 

“The most fun thing by far for us is to play shows so that we can get our music out there,” Rabbitt said. “It’s important—the whole purpose is to play shows.”

In the upcoming months, The Riot may release its first single with the hopes of reaching a broader audience. 

“[I want] our music to connect with [people] in a way that no other music has before,” Rabbitt said.  I think we have a unique sound.”

Evie Kramer – OBTBTBTB

One might wonder what will become of OBTBTBTB (Oscars Band Tribute Band Tribute Band Tribute Band) after this year’s grouping of seniors graduate. Will there be yet another TB? Evie Kramer, a Paly senior, sings in and acts as a manager for the band, organizing gigs and communicating with people. 

“I definitely try to take control, but I’m probably one of the musically least talented,” Kramer said.

The band started off by playing in someone’s backyard at a party. They gave out their contact info to families who attended and who then reached out to ask the band to play at other events. Most of their gigs are at family-friendly barbecue events or at the Paly quad. Including planning, part of Kramer’s duties entail setting the date for the band’s performances and ensuring that all band members are paid fairly. 

“However, [how] much we make doesn’t actually matter, it’s all about the experiences,” Kramer said. 

Band dynamics can be complicated because each individual member has unique skills and interests and it can be hard to balance each person’s needs. Each member plays an important role in keeping the band together and ensuring a good time. 

“I think that I try to propose songs that will make me sound good because I’m the singer but sometimes there’s tension because my fellow band members don’t always like the songs that I choose,” Kramer said. “They’re learning that the ones that I suggest are often the ones that make us sound the best.”

All of the band members are seniors, so right now is a busy time for them. Practices have been limited, but they are excited to get back into it more regularly next semester. Future plans for the band include playing at the senior celebration at the end of the year. 

“I love being in a band and have grown a lot of community from it,” Kramer said. “My band members are some of my best friends.”

Hunter Deloche – Amnesium

Hunter Deloche is a senior at Paly who sings, plays the guitar and bass for the progressive rock band Amnesium. The band was formed by Deloche and his friend, also a Paly senior, Nati Grinkrug at the beginning of their junior year. 

“It was an outlet so that Nati and I could play original compositions,” Deloche said. 

The band did not initially plan to record anything, but then an opportunity arose. They had an idea for their first album. Their concept album called “Event Horizon” centers around mental health by covering a character named Atlas.

“Writing song lyrics is basically just writing poetry, so you have a lot of freedom with what you want to say and how you want to say [it],” Deloche said.

That album took them about nine months to complete and came out around two months ago. Amnesium’s music can be found on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify, Youtube and Apple Music. 

“Musicians really don’t make a lot of money from their streams,” Deloche said. “Where artists really make their money is selling merch and doing live shows so that they can grow their brand.”

For example, Amnesium launched merch on their website, but Deloche still sees room for improvement in the band’s marketing prospects. Since the members are all seniors, the second semester is when they hope to pick up a bit. 

“We want to be able to make music more efficiently and faster,” Deloche said.

In the future, the band hopes to learn from their experiences from the release of their last album and continue to develop their musical outlet. 

“I want to show people that even if your musical or artistic style doesn’t align with the mainstream, you should still try and pursue what interests you,” Deloche said. “That is what will ultimately make you happy.”

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