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Old enough TO ROCK!
MAGMA
Middle-schoolers’ band has classic sound
The number of paying shows the trio gets is a testament to their talent.
BOARDMAN — After a basement practice session, the members of rock band Magma pulled up chairs (and flopped across some exercise equipment) to discuss their affairs.
They kicked around ideas for the coming weekend’s gigs: an acoustic number — America’s “Sister Golden Hair” — will be added to the set list. So will Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze,” which they just learned.
Talk also turned to goals, which include recording an EP and writing more songs.
It was a typical post-mortem bull session, the kind that probably takes place in a thousand basements across the country on any given night.
Except for one major difference: The three members of Magma are only 12 years old.
Michael Cohn (drums), Elliott Didur (guitar and vocals) and Jordan Long (bass and backup vocals) are seventh- graders at Boardman Center Middle School. They formed Magma in February — when they were in sixth grade.
What sets the band apart from most other middle-school bands, not to mention high-school bands, is how far they’ve come. The number of paying shows the trio gets is a testament to their talent.
The three play tightly as an ensemble, and not just for their age. They can change speeds like a vastly more- experienced group, plus they have a confidence level while performing that belies their age.
Elliott, who can reel off guitar riffs and solos like a pro, picked up some stage presence at the Paul Green School of Rock Music in Cleveland. He takes lessons twice a week at the school, which molds budding rockers at its campuses nationwide.
Magma first erupted when Michael and Elliott began jamming. They needed a bass player, so Jordan — who already played guitar — quickly learned the instrument and joined the band.
Their first public show was an open-mic night at Jumpin’ Jacks in Boardman in the spring. Their first paying gig was July 31 at Aces Wild Wings in Boardman.
Magma has also played at Ponderosa Park in Salem, Bill’s Place in Austintown, the Golf Dome in Girard, Camelot Lanes in Boardman, the Youngstown-area Relay for Life, and a number of private parties and festivals.
It was at the Ponderosa Park show this summer where they met Dave Morgan of the Southern rock band The Outlaws, who helped get them some of their shows. “He helped open doors for us,” said Michael.
Magma has also played for their classmates at school talent shows.
The three practiced every day over the summer but have cut back to three or four nights a week since school started. “We work really hard,” said Elliott.
“Two days ago, we spent five and a half hours learning Led Zeppelin’s ‘Black Dog,’” said Jordan.
Magma is all about classic rock. The three were clad in AC/DC T-shirts the night a Vindicator reporter visited, and belted out a smile-inducing rendition of “Whole Lotta Rosie.” In addition to AC/DC, their repertoire also includes KISS and Van Halen songs, among others, plus one original, “Only One Awake.”
Elliott explained their predilection for the guitar-oriented classic rock of the ’70s. “Music nowadays is not about the music, he said. “It’s about the look. The rock from the ’70s still sounds good today.”
The song that has become Magma’s trademark is Guns ’N’ Roses’ late-’80s anthem “Sweet Child of Mine.” “At our shows, somebody always yells ‘Sweet Child of Mine,’” said Elliott.
All three members say they thrive on the crowd — the bigger, the better. “The more people there are, the more energy is in the room,” said Michael. “You get pumped ... you can feel it.”
The band plays in bars, which can have an increasingly adult atmosphere as the evening progresses. But Magma is usually the first on the stage and wraps up early. They’ve encountered no problems, according to Michele Cohn, Michael’s mother. She and all of the boys’ parents go to all of Magma’s shows.
“We’ve been surprised at how rapidly they became successful,” said Cohn.
Magma, who were the guests on a local radio show last Tuesday, will be the opening act for psychedelic rockers Poobah at Aces Wild Wings on Saturday night. They are also on the bill of an all-day benefit show at University Pizzeria in Youngstown on Oct. 25. For information about all future shows, go to myspace.com/magma12.