Going to the Go-Go

Special to The Acorn


CHUCK ROGERS/The AcornUP AND COMING -- With a sound all their own,

CHUCK ROGERS/The AcornUP AND COMING — With a sound all their own, “A Town Project” (better known as ”ATP”), a musical group comprised of local high school students, is getting some great gigs in the greater L.A. Basin. ATP group members are (left to right): Jason Marcus, Tim Carhart, John Herbert, Angelina Araya, Greg Swiller and (center) Patrick Ridge. They performed recently at “The Whiskey A Go-Go” and are booked to appear soon at “The Roxy” in West Hollywood.

High school seniors playing music at the world famous Whiskey A Go-Go or the equally famous Key Club in Hollywood would normally be the culmination of years of hard work, but for six local students, it’s just the beginning. The A-Town Project––or ATP––blends jazz and funk with hip hop, and according to ATP’s vocalist and disc jockey Tim Carheart, a senior at Agoura High School (AHS), "We decided if we were going to play music, we wanted to do something that wasn’t already out there."


Their music is written and composed entirely within the group.


ATP’s members also include Carheart’s fellow AHS seniors Jon Herbert, Jason Marcus and Pat Ridge, Greg Swiller, a junior from Thousand Oaks High School, and Angelina Araya, a junior at AHS. Although the AHS seniors have played music together in the past, they came together four months ago as ATP after studying their craft and musically maturing. Carheart said they sought out the best bass guitarist in the area to help them complete their sound, and once they found Swiller their search was complete.


Carheart writes and sings the lyrics but gives his peers credit for an ability to make it work.


"These musicians are amazing," he mentions. "They feed off each other and it’s unbelievable." In addition to Swiller as bass guitarist and Carheart’s vocals, Herbert is the drummer, Marcus plays lead guitar, Ridge is the DJ and Araya rounds out the group with her vocals.


Although they rehearse twice a week, school comes first for ATP. They’re all excellent students with plans to attend college. Carheart admits that for the seniors in the group, college will be an issue if the band really takes off. "Depending on how far we take this decides how far away we go to school," he said. And for all members, their futures definitely include the music industry.


For now, though, ATP is gearing up for a marketing blitz to make themselves heard. They’re in the final mixing stages with their first CD, which they will distribute to radio stations, music retailers and recording companies along with promotion shots, individual biographies, stickers and upcoming Website information. "One way or another,’’ Carheart said, ‘‘we will be heard."


And at 7 p.m., Wed., Nov. 22. ATP can be heard at The Roxy, another high profile Hollywood venue.


Carheart encourages anyone to call him at (818) 889-3458 for information on their Roxy gig or more about ATP.




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