Garage bands are not as common as they used to be, but Bryan Station High School student Ian Kendzierski decided to form his group in 2018.

Illustrators, his indie punk band, also includes drummer Sam Owens, bass player Aminita Jatta, and guitarist Annika Maxey. 

They write some of their own music but mainly perform cover songs. Such as songs from other indie bands like The 1975 and SWMRS.

This past year, they’ve played multiple gigs with other bands like Sunflower Bean playing to crowds up to 500 people.

Kendzierski said he was inspired to start a garage band by listening to and making music on his own first. 

“I was hesitant about starting a band because not a lot make it, but my friend and I looked around for other band members and soon we started meeting new people,” he said.

Although the band does well, Kendzierski said they try not to fantasize about being huge rock stars one day.  

Kendzierski said that it’s not always easy picking the right people to play with. Over time people change mainly because of a heightened egos.

“We have gone through a couple of people to form the solid group we have now,” he said.

Starting out, he said it was difficult to get gigs. Since the band isn’t well-known, and venues sometimes turn them down. Now, they usually play at coffee shops and sometimes open for other bands. There last gig was at Common Grounds Coffee, but right now they are focusing more on writing and are taking a break from gigs.

Kendzierski says he considers the band to be equal to his schoolwork and his social life because it’s something he’s passionate about and he makes time to manage everything.

As of now, he doesn’t have any specific plans for music during college; he just wants to “go with it.”