Band from Plymouth Music School Wins National Competition
The sound of pop music is alive and well in the northwest metro, and it’s coming from some of its youngest musicians.
Every band has an origin story. And for some, that journey begins at Bach to Rock in Plymouth.
“Well the thing I love about Bach to Rock is it teaches every part about being a musician,” said Jake Shoulack, the owner of Bach to Rock’s three Minnesota locations.
The Plymouth location opened seven years ago and has more than 200 students.
“If a kid comes in wanting to learn metal or classical or jazz, we have a curriculum that kind of gives us the skeleton that we can use to apply to whatever they want to learn,” said Shoulack.
As part of the curriculum, the school groups the students into a band so they learn how to play with other people.
“I think music is a really creative form of art,” said Levy Bartlov, 11, a student from Medina.
Bartlov is the lead singer and keyboard player for the band, The Downtown Odin Blues.
“I just like that there are nice teachers that support all of us, and we learn a lot of stuff,” said Bartlov.
Levy Bartlov is the lead singer and keyboard player of The Downtown Odin Blues. The band is based out of the Plymouth Bach to Rock.
Bach to Rock Battle of the Bands
One of the things students can learn is how to compose a song. The Downtown Odin Blues spent a couple of months fine-tuning an original song called “Vampires from the Moon.”
It’s a piece they played at Bach to Rock’s national Battle of the Bands competition earlier this month. The judges liked their performance so much that they awarded the band first place in the elementary school division.
The Downtown Odin Blues beat out nearly 30 bands from across the nation.
“When we found out that we got first place, me, my mom, my sister, we were screaming. Like, screaming,” said Bartlov.
In the five years of the competition, this is the first win for the Plymouth location.
“Yeah it’s a big deal for us,” said Eric Kilpela, the director of the Plymouth Bach to Rock. “I mean, there’s close to 60 schools in the company. Competition is tough, so to finally win one was a big deal for us.”
The Downtown Odin Blues still have a lot of work to do before headlining at a venue like First Avenue, but this win is certainly a good start.
“Like, we’re really proud of it,” said Bartlov.
Meanwhile, The Downtown Odin Blues are hoping for a repeat win at next year’s Battle of the Bands competition. They’re currently working on their next original song, which is about video games.
Related: Business Matters: Bach to Rock Music School
