Meet the Teen Rockers In Oak Lawn Fall On The Green's 'Battle of the Bands'

OAK LAWN, IL -- They come from Oak Lawn Community High School, Richards, Shepard and Reavis, and all the way up north to Maine South, Maine East, Deerfield and Lincoln Park High School. Seven teen bands will take the stage on opening night of Oak Lawn’s Fall on the Green starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8. Oh, and they’re bringing their friends, which should turn the village green into a screaming mass of kids. If you have old ears left over from too much rock 'n roll from your youth, you might want pick up some herbal tinnitus drops at Walgreens.

The Oak Lawn Arts Commission is spearheading the revival of Battle of the Bands, comprised of teen musicians ages 12 through 21. These teen rockers will perform 20-minute sets as they vie for a gig on the fall frolic’s main stage this Sunday, Sept. 10, as well as a spot in next year’s statewide band battle at the Illinois State Fair. Bands will be judged by a panel of experienced music professionals, including John Karkazis, better known as Johnny K, the Grammy-nominated owner of GrooveMaster Recording Studios; Oak Lawn Arts commission members Stevie Mac, drummer for Zombie School Boy, and local teen singer-songwriter Shannon Baker.

Here’s a rundown of Friday's lineup:

googleboi -- Shepard High School sophomore Michael Theriault, 15, of Crestwood, describes himself as a “boy with a guitar who thinks he’s cool but he’s not,” according to his band statement. Michael is the evening's only solo act. He’s never played in public before so Friday will be his first time playing before an audience. Michael played piano at a young age until last summer when he discovered the ukulele which morphed into a guitar. This googleboi plans to play a few original tunes and covers. He describes his music as “indie/alternative” but doesn’t want to be nailed down to any specific genre. He posts his music on BandCamp.

“I want this to be bigger thing with actual band members,” Michael said. “I want this to become bigger than what I am now.”

Act Naturally - Act Naturally has the youngest members who will be playing Friday night. These Beatles-loving band mates all played together in Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School’s award-winning jazz band. They’ve played already played a gig, opening for Monk 9 at a benefit for Transplant Village at Chicago Ridge’s Bobby McGee. The Fab Five will be grooving up slowly with a set classic Beatles songs, including “A Hard Day’s Night” and “Come Together.” The members are all freshmen at OLCHS and Richards, along with 13-year-old Georgie, the coolest eighth grader at OLMCHS.

Sage -- Sage is another young band with roots at Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School. Drummer Emma O’Malley-Galvan, 14, of Hometown, has known bass player James Walsh since preschool. They met pal and lead guitarist Daniel McLawhorn in musical theater at OLHMS. They count Simon and Garfunkel, The Doors, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Beatles among their musical influences. (We like these kids.) Sage is planning to play one of their own original tunes, "Oh, My Grace."

“Sage always means someone who is wise and we want our music to be inspirational that you makes you think,” Emma said.

Proto Zombie -- Garage funk band Proto Zombie comprised of Saul Medina, 15, on guitar and vocals, bassist Brian Antolak, 17, and Jeff McGovern, 16, have been playing together since eighth grade. They attend Reavis, OLCHS and Shepard, respectively. According to their band manifesto:

“Imagine that Kurt Cobain from Nirvana and Glen Danzing from the Misfits had a love child and that love child was put into foster carewith none other than Dave Grohl because Danzing became a deadbeat dad after Kurt died. Now imagine a bizarre accident involving a guitar amp and a bag of cheetos turning his child into a zombie. This child is proto zombie.”

They’ll be handing out official Proto Zombie buttons during Friday’s show.

Rebels Without A Cause -- Full of teen angst, these guys borrowed the band’s name from the famed movie starring 1950s teen idol James Dean. These bandmates all hail from the north suburbs and North Side, from schools Maine East and Maine South, Deerfield, Lincoln Park and Amundsen high schools. Members consist of Nickolas Muilaert, 17, guitar and vocals; Nathaniel Mohill, 17, bassist; guitar and lead singer Keeley Flynn, 16. Drummer Jason Shrago, 16, can’t make Friday’s show. Subbing on the drums is Kmae Sumberg, 14. The Rebels Without A Cause describe their sound as alternative rock.

The Mokena School of Rock showband Smoke on the Water and Bridgeview band Till Dawn round out Friday’s battle. The bands could not be reached for a preview.

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