By Malkaiah Mehlek ’15

Guitars. Plenty of them. Lining the walls of the room where Sherwood’s guitar class is taught. Senior Debbie Moon simply grabs a chair and begins strumming as senior Sarah Decederfelt sits in the seat next to her. Then, senior Kayla Geary counts to three and sings to the matching rhythm of Moon’s strumming.

The trio are a group of close friends who have known each other since middle school, but formed their band this year. “We were at my house when Debbie saw the guitar, she started playing Ed Sheeran’s ‘The A Team’. Then Kayla and I started singing along. We joked about making a band and then decided, why not?” Decederfelt said.

The seniors have dubbed their band ‘Professional Amateurs’. Moon plays the guitar, Geary writes the songs, and all three members sing. They have a process to creating songs and melodies. “I think of lyrics when I’m in the shower; different life experiences influence my songs. I think about a verse, make a rhyme, and then create the song.” Geary said.

After Geary makes the song, Moon helps Geary fit the lyrics into musical measures. “The melodies are influenced by the last genre I listened to. If I listen to All Time Low I make the song more punk, and if I listen to Taylor Swift, I make it more soft pop. Usually, Kayla has an idea of how she wants it to sound so I try to find a matching strum pattern.” Moon said.

So far the Professional Amateurs have performed at venues such as the Kozy Café in Leisure World and Open Mic Night at the Olney Library. “Performing for the first time was a confidence booster. We were shy at first but once we went on stage we were more confident in ourselves.” Geary said.

The band’s genre is mainly soft punk, with inspiration derived from bands such as All-Time Low, One Direction, 5SOS, Monsters and Men, and solo musician Taylor Swift. The group has also written and performed a few original songs such as ‘Spotlight’, and ‘Breathe’.

As for the band’s goals, they plan to continue performing at more venues and make a YouTube channel to broadcast their music on. The possibilities for the band are seemingly endless, and they intend to continue singing and strumming regardless of whether success follows or not. “We do it for fun” Moon said.