Kairo

From note-taking students to note-making indie rockers, the guys of Kairo have turned their high school friendships into a musical collaboration. Since forming last year, the band has been playing before classmates, at coffee houses and in clubs. "We go wherever the music takes us," said bassist Daniel Komforti, 16. The group, based out of Cooper City, also features drummer Charlie Steiner, 13, and guitarists Yaniv Sapir, 17, and Matt Schneider, 16. The foursome attends the David Posnack Hebrew Day School in Plantation. Lead singer-guitarist Max Matluck, 18, goes to the University School in Davie. Matluck, the newest member, signed on in August and replaces the group's earlier frontman. His arrival gives the band a completely different edge based on catchy melodies coupled with lyrics about girls and the world at large. "Max has totally changed our dynamics," Komforti said. "Before, we were more alternative rock. Now, we've added some pop and r&b." The band is also bringing friends into the studio to contribute keyboards and trombone to a debut EP. The disc is due to drop in December. "We take our music seriously," Komforti said. "The crowds have been very supportive. I hope the band will have a good, long run. - Beth Feinstein-Bartl

As senior Joey Parlo got off the exit on I-95 on the way to see the Battle of the Bands at Churchills Pub in Miami the first thing he noticed was the bars on the school windows and the flock of police cars that sped by, sirens blaring. He clicked his heels three times like Dorothy and said There is no place like home, there is no place like home, but when he opened his eyes he didnt see Weston, instead he was staring straight at the homeless man standing in front of his car. So he veered around the man and continued on his journey to Churchills with his windows rolled up and doors locked. The show was an opportunity for amateur bands to perform in front of an audience to gain experience and have a chance to win 20 free studio hours and $500. Even though the range of talent varied from what are you doing on stage? to this sounds like something I would listen to on my iPod, the crowd was family oriented and was supportive of all bands that performed. It was a relatively good atmosphere but I did notice that some of the other bands started drama with one another. I feel like everyone really liked us because we were so young and interacted with the crowd well, said Max Matluck, lead singer of the second place band Kairo. Some of the opening bands over stayed their welcome on stage by per- forming unprompted encores and the crowd murmured among itself that they wished they would just leave and some members of the crowd even covered their ears. But as the night carried on the bands improved and the crowd became more into the performances. The band that elicited the most response from the audience was the winner: Dead Right. This local screamo band excited the crowd with its heavy metal sound and intense screaming vocals. The bass guitar players hair got stuck to his guitar during the performance but the band carried on and demonstrated good showmanship as they continued to play. Among the many families that attended this show were the followers of Dead Right who stuck out a bit due to their body tattoos and facial piercings. Over- all this band put on an exciting show and got the crowd hyped up, requesting multiple encores. I think that Dead Rights music sounded unorganized for my taste, but their followers seemed to really enjoy it and I could definitely sense they were excited, Matluck said. It was a little bit problematic though because one of my Moms friend was actually hit by someone that was moshing and hurt her knee. The last band to perform, Kairo, was by far the youngest with band member ages ranging from 13 to 17. Although they came in second this South Florida band played their hearts out, despite having technical difficulties with their bass guitar. After the stall, lead singer Matluck energized the crowd by playing a Beatles cover of Come Together followed by several originals including As of Now and Scoot on Over. Keep an eye out for these youngsters in the future. We have a lot of venues downtown that were going to start playing once we record our EP, and in January we are going to be playing at Talent Farm with some big name bands. Its really exciting stuff, Matluck said. - Joey Parlo

Sunday Night I had the pleasure of witnessing my brother along with his band Kairo perform at Churchill's Pub in Miami. I was blown away. I have spent years listening to Max play the guitar and sing his originals but never heard him LIVE with a band. Yaniv Sapir and Matt Schneider were great as Lead Guitarists. I was also really impressed with Charlie Steiner! Being the youngest band member, he sure showed a great deal of talent. And Daniel Komforti really impressed as a Bassist. It would be quite biased of me to say that Max was the best of all because he is my brother. So I will just say... Max, you really have quite a talent and I think you should follow your dreams in the field of music. I cant wait to see this band next time they play. They did a few covers such as Come Together by the Beatles, and a John Mayer song. The band played some of Max's originals that I was familiar with (Scoot on Over, As of Now) and some band Originals (Matches, Saturday). Please don't take my word for it... see how good they are for yourself! - Marisa Matluck