Teenage Takeover 3, From Crowd Surfing to Little Surfer Girls

Photos and re-cap by Randy Jarosz

It wasn’t too long ago that most of these band members picked up their instruments for the first time. Mitch McDermott lead guitarist of The Summercamp was still learning the guitar while he attended a Scott Township recreation summer camp, recalls Derek Krystek, drummer for local band Wreck Loose, who was McDermott’s camp councilor in 2006. Krystek encouraged him then and showed up for his gig Saturday at Teenage Takeover 3.

Teenage Takeover in its third installment featured veterans Pachyderm, Chase the Monkey and NOX Boys, who organized this unique event with, The Summercamp and Allentown trio, The Yetis playing for the first time. Teenage Takeover is a platform that allows talented under 21 bands to showcase their music. Gigs are limited because of their age at top hotspots around the city.

A line of fans lined up around The Shop, many of them waiting to see The Summercamp perform their first “official” show. Don’t let their lack of live experience fool you though, these guys absolutely killed it, working the crowd like longtime veterans. Living up to their band name, the quintet dressed in boy scout gear. With songs like “Swimsuit Season,” and “Model Killer,” a debut album is already much anticipated.

Pachyderm is led by Samy Mally, she’s petite and unassuming, but packs some vocal punch. Guitarist Ethan Mackowick and bassist Max Klemmer trade some pretty heavy riffs all while leaping throughout the air. The group brought plenty of new music for the takeover with “Orange Creamcicle,” and latest single “Deepish Blue.”

Next up on this stacked line-up was Chase the Monkey. This was sort of their unofficial album release party for “How to Say Goodbye.” Guitarist Alberto Sewald, drummer Paige Suvick and bassist Matt Hanson were on cloud 9 on stage having a “great time” and interacting with the crowd in true CTM fashion. The trio played their first two singles “Lined Paper,” and “1961.” Sewald sings with ferocity “no one gets away from a man in a mask” on “The Ballad of Norman D. Wallis” possibly the best song on the 11 track, stellar debut.

NOX BOYS always bring their “A” game when performing live. TT3 was no different with lead guitarist and vocalist Zack Keim crowd surfing on a couple of occasions. The NOX Boys kept it in the family again for TT3 with Sid Senior, Jake Stadtlander, the twin brother of bassist Zach Stadtlander, MCing the event and then joining them for a rap verse on “Military School.” The boys finished up their rambunctious set with “Rich People.”

The main event, The Yetis from Allentown, PA traveled to Pittsburgh for the first time. The trio left their imprint on TT3 with their surf-tastic grooves. It’s not hard to dance to these guys as they sing songs about surfing, girls, and California. Nick on bass, Patrick on drums and Christian on lead guitar and vocals radiate a sort of cool that can’t be explained, while performing their hit number “Little Surfer Girl.” The show culminated with every person left in attendance, on stage for the final highlight of this memorable experience.

The Summercamp

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Pachyderm

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Chase the Monkey

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NOX Boys

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The Yetis

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