As far as high school bands go, most don?t last long after graduation. But Summer School has bucked the odds. Started in 1998, the band has managed to survive graduation, college, loss of a horn section and multiple name changes. Despite these changes, the band has grown and is now enjoying local success with the recent release of their EP “Learning life?s little lessons!” A full-length CD is expected out in early 2001.

Their sound is an eclectic mix of pop, punk and alternative rock. Bassist Jesse Carter claims that they are just a “junior high punk rock band.” Ranging from the slow paced melodic “Honorable Mention” to “Stranger,” their songs take on a personality of their own and are reflective of each band member.

The band?s five members are all college students, and Kyle Rothenbaum, one of the two guitarists, is a computer science major at Sacramento State. Reflecting on what the band means to him, Rothenbaum says, “the band is my artistic outlet, you don?t get that opportunity while working with computers. It keeps me grounded.” Carter and lead singer Devin Maple are both students at Sac City. Best friends for six years, they started the band as “a way to be cool in high school.”

In addition to being lead singer, Maple also writes a majority of the lyrics. For inspiration he looks to life around him, especially relationships and girls. He jokingly said, “I don?t actually write the songs, Babyface does. He likes to write our songs about girls, which is pretty cool, because if I actually knew how to write, I would write songs about girls too.” As for the rest of the band, their musical influences range from Weezer to Blink 182 and Incubus.

Drummer Marius Gieseke, a sophomore at UC Davis, says, “I learned a lot from listening to Scott Raynor, the ex-drummer of Blink 182. He has that classic punk sound.” Guitarist David Lin, who is also a computer science major, sites New Found Glory and NoFX as his major musical influences.

Summer School is emerging into the Sacramento music scene at just the right time when many Sacramento bands are hitting it big. Like many local bands that are short on funds, Summer School is recording, producing and releasing their CD all on their own. And if the rocketing sales of their EP are any indication, when their CD is released it will be sure to sell out.

Summer School is playing several shows in the Sacramento area.

On Sunday, Oct. 15 they are playing in a “battle of the bands” show at the Varsity Theater in Davis and on Saturday, Oct. 21 they are playing a free show at Dimple Records on Arden Way. The show starts at 4 p.m.

For more information, contact the band by email at [email protected].