Music is a fundamental part of life. Whether it’s seeing concerts with your friends or blasting songs in your car, music has the ability to connect us all.
Changing the live music scene one performance at a time, meet Zamboni. Zamboni is a band featuring senior Millie Foley, juniors Nate Arch and Fleury Robbins, and sophomores Marcel Meyer and Jude Weinstein.
“They are all amazing people,” sophomore Jimena Garcia De Leaniz Hernandez said. “I’m neighbors with one of the members. When they practice, I feel like an angel has descended upon me and lifted me to the heavens.”
Music has the ability to bring people together, even within a band.
“It definitely isn’t easy to join a band all of a sudden, especially if you don’t know anyone,” Marcel Meyers said. “You slowly build really tight relationships both musically and socially, which leads to a much more impactful experience.”
Arch created the band in 2024 for the Talent Show. The band reunited and performed in Croya’s Battle of the Bands a few months later. The band has created an outlet for many of its members.
“Despite playing music for about 9 years, I had never been in a real band until Zamboni. I had never really had a chance to play with other people, and it’s been incredible.” Weinstein said.
Unlike other bands, Zamboni isn’t confined to a single genre of music.
“We all have such different tastes in music, so we are always introducing each other to new stuff,” Weinstein said.
Zamboni isn’t afraid to try a new artist, so they “play literally anything,” according to Foley.
“If we agree on it, we play it. We play Kendrick Lamar, David Bowie, The Beatles, Ocean Alley, Weezer, Wilco, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder, and so much more,” Foley said.
Their commitment to a genre-defying sound isn’t the only thing that makes Zamboni so unique. Being in high school and. balancing homework, sports, clubs, and other extracurriculars, the members of Zamboni have developed a knack for time management.
“Timing can really be a limiting factor in how well our band plays together. Earlier this school year, we played a show at Gorton for their 50th anniversary, and, because we couldn’t practice during the summer, we sounded a little bit rough,” Arch said.
With virtually little to no help from outsiders, this student-led group has pulled together practices, gigs, and any other necessities.
“I went to one of their garage shows in October, and it was such a fun environment,” sophomore Nikos Papadakes said. “They had drinks, candy, and merch for us. The whole thing was really well put together.”
Since they first started, Zamboni has been called many things, including Purple Palace, Goose, Geese, Six Dollar Bill, and Moose.
Outside of the current core members of the band, other students have contributed to its success.
“Liam Sheridan, Xavier Garriques, and Ian Redfield all helped to start the band. We’ve also had fun appearances with Tim Dan, Klaudia Cygan, and Alejandro Leahy,” Arch said.
The limits of high school mean that the future of Zamboni has been left uncertain.
“We all really want to release a quick album before summer comes and we have to separate,” Arch said. “As for getting big, we all think it would be fun, but we all have other priorities.”
You can come see Zamboni play on May 3 at 7 pm in Croya’s Battle of the Bands.
