It was just your typical jamming for four sophomores, three freshmen and a Woodbury sixth-grader when they took the stage.
Two Shaker bands, Grapefruit and The Snozzberries played at Rock the Falls 2011 at Chagrin Falls Intermediate School Dec. 3. Fifteen area bands participated.
“Grapefruit” included Freshmen Nate Livingston (lead singer), Zach Silverman (guitar and bass), Adin Leibovich (guitar) and sixth-grader Pearce Gronek (drums), while sophomore Shane McKeon (tambourine) played in two of their three songs as a last-minute addition.
This was the second straight year Grapefruit played Rock the Falls.
“I think we did very well,” explained Silverman. “This was by far our best performance, and I felt we were well prepared.”
“I think we played well and much better than last year,” said Leibovich. He and Gronek are neighbors who began playing music together, and they decided last year to enter Rock the Falls. The two then invited Silverman, Livingston and McKeon to play with them.
Gronek, who came up with the name “Grapefruit” when the group was having trouble choosing one, said that it isn’t really weird for him to play with high school students who are all at least three years older than he. “I get along with them, and I’ve known them for a while,” he said.
Livingston said the group “greatly improved” compared to last year because they worked harder. “We probably practiced once a week for six weeks. We really wanted to be prepared this year,” he said.
At Rock the Falls, Grapefruit played “Fluorescent Adolescence” by Arctic Monkeys, “Float On” by Modest Mouse and “Crown on the Ground” by Childish Gambino.
Livingston said the group gave a lot of thought to choosing a set list. “ ‘Float On’ was a last-minute addition, and ‘Fluorescent Adolescence’ was really fun to play. It showcased Pearce’s talents,” he said. “I really pushed and pushed for ‘Crown on the Ground’ because I get to rap.”
Grapefruit plans to play the Hawken Rock Off this spring.
Another Shaker band, The Snozzberries, played Rock the Falls and featured four sophomores.
“I think we did an amazing job,” said sophomore Arman Gerami, who plays bass and keyboard for the Snozzberries. “We each worked out our parts really well and practiced and put forth as much effort as possible and I was happy with the results.”
The Snozzberries also feature sophomores Shane McKeon on guitar and bass, Mike Miller on drums and lead singer Lillian Sindelar.
The group originated a couple years ago when Gerami and Miller started practicing together.
“For the past two or so years, me and Mike have been practicing once or twice every few weeks,” Gerami said. “Then eventually Shane came in, and we decided to do Rock the Falls, so we asked Lillian to join.”
The group’s name, which they call “awesome,” honors the famous fruit from “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”
Gerami said that The Snozzberries only practiced as an entire group once. “We tried, at least. All together, we had about six to ten different rehearsals, but only once we had all four members together. It was hard to coordinate a time that worked for the four of us, so we usually practiced with just three of us at a time because there was always one restriction.”
The group began their performance with “Crush, Crush, Crush” by Paramore, which was added to fill out its set.
“At first we had three songs that ended up being 12 minutes, so we added the first song . . . which pushed it towards 15 minutes,” Gerami explained.
After “Crush, Crush, Crush,” The Snozzberries played “How to Save a Life” by The Fray, “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer and Coldplay’s “Fix You.”
The Snozzberries also plan to play the Hawken School Rock Off this spring. Gerami said, “From what I’ve heard, it’s the same thing [as Rock the Falls], but there are also judges that critique us, which I think we really need.”
