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Schools

Whiz Kids: Middle School Band Goes from Talent Show to Sunset Boulevard

Deep Fryd Dynamite will be playing at the Cat Club on Sunset Boulevard on May 21.

When middle school students Max Silver, Folsom Keller and Stephen James Pietropaolo first performed together for the talent show, the sounds of rock music filled the auditorium.

Nearly a year later, they have recorded an original song and are set to play at the Cat Club on Sunset Boulevard on May 21. The Cat Club is a popular music venue that is frequented by locals and the famous alike.

The talented trio started a band called Deep Fryd Dynamite, mixing punk, rock and classical music. This unique genre the band calls "party punk" is influenced by Led Zeppelin.

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The boys formed the band in June 2010, after hearing of Hesby's talent show auditions. They were originally going to do only a cover song for the talent show, but once they started writing original songs together, they decided to turn the act into something bigger.

When asked who inspires them, Folsom says that he is his own idol. Max’s model is My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way. Drummer Stephen, on the other hand, has a hard time picking his idol, saying there are too many drummers to choose from.

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Despite their different personalities—Max being the creative one, Stephen the hilarious entertainer and Folsom being, well, the different one—the band members all agree on one thing. When asked where they see themselves in 10 years, they say they'd be on tour, performing in stadiums all over the world—and have a record deal, of course.

“Who knew that the oddest group of people could get together like this and create such a colorful explosion of art?” Max says.

Maddie Martino reports on standout students at Hesby Oaks for the school newspaper, Hesby Oaks Times.

Want to nominate a Patch Whiz Kid? Send his/her name, age, accomplishment and a JPG photo to laurenr@patch.com.

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