March is Music In Our Schools Month! Students, teachers, and parents across the country will be celebrating music education in schools. First celebrated in 1973, Music In Our Schools Month (MIOSM) is sponsored by The National Association for Music Education. Schools across the country and overseas will be participating in events such as the World's Largest Concert, a sing-along event, on March 11 at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.

What better way to celebrate MIOSM than to meet an up and coming teen band? Weekly Reader spoke with AfterMath, a melodic rock band from Austin, TX. They recently won the First Annual SchoolJam USA National Teen 'Battle of the Bands' contest. The purpose of the contest was to both showcase the talent of young musicians and raise awareness and support for music education in schools. As their prize, they received a trophy in the shape of a platinum album, a grand prize trip to Europe to perform at the international 2010 SchoolJam finals in Frankfurt, Germany, and an additional $5,000 for their school music programs.

AfterMath features Rachel Thompson, 15, on lead vocals; Dustin Belanger, 16, on lead guitar; Livvy Bennett, 15, on bass guitar; and Justin Beamon, 16, on drums.

Weekly Reader: How did AfterMath first form?
AfterMath: Well, Rachel met Dustin at a rock camp, through the Austin School of Music. We decided that we wanted to stay as a band, so we had a teacher over there introduce us with some more people within the Austin school of music. Finally, we found Justin who was an awesome drummer and we were together for about three years. Livvy joined three years ago, and then we were AfterMath.

WR: What would you say your musical influences are?
AM: We all love the Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, and Led Zeppelin. Rachel and Livvy both adore the Beatles. Livvy's completely hooked on the Beatles. Justin is mostly influenced by Vallejo, which is a local Austin band. Their drummer is pretty cool.

WR: Are you looking forward to going to Germany?
AM: Oh, we are crazy excited about Germany. Livvy's never been out of the country, so she's really excited about that. They're having a contest like we did here, and we're going to go play for their show, as their guest. It's a real honor and we are incredibly excited and feel very blessed to be able to do so.

WR: What was it like performing at the SchoolJam USA contest?
AM: There were bands from across the country. To start, there were 500 or something. 200 got to the online voting, and then in the finals there were 10 bands. The contest was pretty intense, because all of the bands there that we were competing against they were so good, it felt like there was a slim chance that we were going to win, but we got it.

WR: Was the SchoolJam USA contest the biggest venue you've played?
AM: Oh, definitely the biggest venue. We usually play at a lot of different venues around Austin. We'll go anywhere that will take us.

WR: Are there any plans for an album release in the future?
AM: We are trying. Our plan is to get a new record out before we go to Germany. We want to get all of our original songs on one CD. We have a demo, which has about four of our original songs on it. We are looking to record some more.

WR: How have your schools' music programs influenced the band?
AM: Our drummer and bassist were in a percussion class, our guitarist played trumpet, and our lead singer is in choir. So, we were all at one time very involved with our music programs. That definitely influenced us and helped us with our skill and rhythm and stuff. The people from the Austin School of Music are amazing. They are all so helpful and insightful.

WR: Is it difficult balancing school and the band?
AM: We all go to different high schools. It is hard since we all live so far apart, but we manage. We go to this place called the Music Lab all the time, which is basically just a studio with a bunch of rooms and you can do whatever you want. There's always a difficulty, but we always find time because this is what we love to do.

WR: What advice would you give to other young musicians?
AM: Anyone can do it. Just practice really often and don't give up. It's such an amazing feeling to get to do this. A lot of people think that it is such a hassle, and that the rock life is the bad way to go and all that, but you just have to do it. Just do what you love to do.

Think About It:

How might you celebrate Music In Our Schools Month at your school?