Doomsday Diaries: Young Musicians Believe in Real Rock and Roll

They may be young musicians but they certainly don't sound young.

The members of the rock band Doomsday Diaries range in age from 13 to 15 years old. Some of them are not even in high school yet but they already are accomplished musicians having performed at several area venues and events.

Most recently the band took the stage at Giants Stadium performing at the Bamboozle music event which featured well-known acts like Lil’ Wayne, Motley Crue and Paramore, a rock band which happens to be a favorite among some of the Doomsday Diaries members.

Founding members Jason and Sean Sproviero, twin brothers from Hasbrouck Heights,  known as the “Twins of Doom” on guitar and bass respectively, join lead singer Jessica Kenny of Garfield and Adam Sarkisian of Paramus on guitar in this project which is self-described as neo-psychedelic/progressive rock. The core group is joined by drummer Reed Silverstein of Northvale and Owen McCloskey on keyboard.

The band recently rocked the stage at the Hasbrouck Heights third annual street festival. A show at Mexicali Blues in Teaneck is coming up on June 2 and the twins' father and band manager Scott Sproviero said that many more gigs are lined up for the summer such as the St. Francis Carnival in Lodi on June 24 and a all-day musical festival at Dingbatz in Clifton on July 31.

This summer the band plans to head into the studio to record some of their original tunes for an upcoming EP.

Each member has his or her own story for getting into music but what brings them together as a band is their shared love for rock and roll. 

As the line from the band’s song says “When I listen to the radio I wanna cry, cuz that ain’t rock and roll that’s rock ‘n roll genocide.” The lyric, penned by Jessica, sums up how the entire band feels about the music of today. Jessica says through this song they are saying that there is still hope for real rock and roll music. As opposed to “same boring mainstream garbage” as Jason called it.

Even though they are young they appreciate classic rock and appeal to a more mature rock and roll audience.  “We don’t want to be perceived as a kid band. We just happen to be young musicians,” said Jason.

All of the kids have classic rock musicians they admire such as the Beatles. In fact  Jason described himself as a die-hard Beatles fan as a kid. Jessica said she always did musicals and plays growing up but realized it was too girly for her and she always loved rock and roll more.  Some of her favorite singers are Florence from Florence and the Machine and Hayley Williams of Paramore.

Adam who has mastered the guitar in just two years and is only just a few weeks shy of 14  says his favorite guitarists are Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Santana.

All the members of Doomsday Diaries were students at the School of Rock, a school in nearby South Hackensack which offers music classes to kids age 7 to 18. A few years back, Jason and Sean were involved with a group called Jersey Kids which had more of a teen pop musical focus which the boys discovered was not what they wanted to do so they decided to leave.

Shortly thereafter they began working on their own project with fellow core members Jessica and Adam. Later Reed and Owen joined them.

The Twins of Doom share a good laugh as they describe the story of how they got their nickname. Jason said when he and his brother first started going to the School of Rock four years ago they could have easily been described as “annoying little kids, bringing a wave of doom and attack upon everything” Jason laughed.

He said in just three days the director of the school nicknamed them the Twins of Doom and the name eventually morphed itself into what is the now band’s name Doomsday Dairies.

The band has several original songs under their belt such as “Rock n Roll Genocide,” “East Side” and “Summer of Love” and they do a handful of covers too however the band mates agree that if they do a cover the goal is to put their own spin on it and not replicate what the recording artist did. In fact last year Doomsday Diaries won the battle of the bands contest at Beatlemania convention in Secaucus with their cover of “I Want You.”

Scott who serves as the band’s manager gives the band a lot of credit for what they do and have accomplished. He said when they first started his role was more of a musical mentor but now he sees himself as a spectator as their creative energy comes from themselves.  He sees a closeness among the kids and says they are like brothers and sisters.

“They really work hard," Scott commented. "For young guys and gal they really display a commitment to excellence that is inspiring.”

“They don’t take themselves seriously but they take their music seriously.”