Following in the footsteps of Kurt Cobain and his garage band, Nirvana, in the 1980s, five high school kids from Parkland and Coral Springs hope to steal a page from that playbook and hit it big with their grunge and rock garage band, HB Boulevard.
Named after Heron Bay Blvd., the five friends—Lawson Jay (vocalist), Jose Nunez (lead guitarist), and Josiah Jimenez (drummer), all 17, and Logan Siskin (rhythm guitar) and Anthony Pellito (bassist), both 16, all students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD)—have become the “unofficial Stoneman Douglas rock band.”
Last September they performed in front of 3,000 people at the MSD pep rally, and they’ve performed locally in the First Annual MSD Battle of the Bands, at Black Flamingo Brewing in Pompano Beach, and at the Black Flamingo Echoes of the Flamingo Music Festival last summer.
This is only the beginning for this group of passionate musicians, says their unofficial manager, Adam Jay, father of the band’s lead singer, Lawson Jay, who aspires one day to be a successful businessman, preferably in the music industry.
“I am super proud of these fine gentlemen,” says Jay, a sales manager at a legal education publishing company. “They have shown grit and determination in doing something they’re passionate about.”
The group practices two to three times each week in the Jays’ garage, and Adam Jay has watched their evolution over the past two years. “They have grown so much since they first started,” he says. “I’ve watched them grow, both personally and musically, and see how they treat each other with dignity and respect.
“It’s nice to see kids this age engaged in something so meaningful and special,” he says.
While the five were not even born in the 1980s, they all are passionate about music from that era and are inspired by the music of Green Day, Guns ‘N Roses, Metallica, Van Halen, Black Sabbath, and the Foo Fighters. And yes, even the Beatles get a shout-out.
Siskin, who plays rhythm guitar in the band, finds inspiration in Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Paige. Vocalist Jay admires Green Day’s singer and guitarist, Billy Joe Armstrong; and Nunez, the band’s lead guitarist, models himself on Eddie Van Halen and Kirk Hammett, lead guitarist in Metallica.
“He inspired me to play like him—fast and furious,” says Nunez, who hopes one day to meet his musical idols.
“It’s the rebirth of this musical style, and we’re adding something new to complement the old,” says Pellito, who has numerous passions, including engineering and mechanics, creating things with his hands, and becoming an astronaut.
“It’s classic ’80s, ’90s, and early 2000s music—when music was good,” he jokes. “That’s my era.”
Pellito thanks his dad, Gregg Pellito, a retired deejay, for introducing him to this music.
In fact, they have created a new musical genre, one they like to call “rift rock,” a combination of punk, classic rock ‘n’ roll, and metal.
A recent highlight for the group was when HB Boulevard played a cover of Green Day’s “The American Dream Is Killing Me” at a New Year’s Eve party. Green Day’s lead singer, Armstrong, saw the video on YouTube and reposted it to his Instagram page with 2.7 million followers.
“Shocked” when he heard this news, Pellito cut himself while washing dishes. “That’s pretty awesome,” he says. “It encourages us to keep going.”
While they all have plans to finish high school and go on to college, they hope to make music a priority in their lives. Their long-term goals are to entertain, to spread the word of rock ‘n’ roll, and to find fame and fortune. They have performed a few original songs and hope to continue creating new works.
How will they know when they’ve made it?
For Siskin, it’s buying a Gibson Les Paul guitar; for Jimenez, it’s the luxury of personal bodyguards; and for Nunez, it’s getting a signature BC Rich guitar and getting voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The group supports local MSD nonprofits: Safe Schools for Alex, founded by Max Schachter in honor of his son, Alex; and Lori and Ilan Alhadeff’s Make Our Schools Safe, created in memory of their daughter, Alyssa. Both Alex Schachter and Alyssa Alhadeff were killed in the MSD school shooting in February 2018.
“We want to give back to the community,” says Lawson Jay. “We would love to perform at Pine Trails Park and Amphitheater for a local charity.
“Mayor Walker, if you’re listening,” he says, “we are ready and willing to go.”
Visit HB Boulevard on YouTube and Instagram.