POPULATION 5 will Rock the House at Planet Gemini!

Who we were isn't as important as who we are...
You really must listen to our music...
In the meantime...

In August of 2007, Sam, Zakk and Ellis (three 11 year old guitarists) attended a 5-day "Rockband Bootcamp" at the Paul Green School of Rock in San Francisco. At the end of that camp they performed in a rollicking show for family and friends and experienced for the first time the thrill of playing in a rock band.  As you can imagine, they were intoxicated by the applause and attention and came away believing that they really could become a rock band. 

Upon returning to Monterey County and subsequently to school (as new 6th graders at San Benancio Middle School), they tried to join the school's Jazz Band, but were told that there wasn't a need for more guitar players. This news stirred mixed emotions in the boys -- on the one hand, this meant that they didn't have a place to help them continue their musical education; on the other hand, they really didn't want to play jazz. They wanted to play rock music.

Hoping to keep the Rock School momentum going, Sam's father (Ernest Griffin-Ortiz) offered to coach the boys once a week, to help them focus and learn new songs as a band. So, once a week, the boys would meet at Sam's house after school to jam and learn new songs. They enlisted the vocal talents of a classmate, but when he dropped out of the band, Emma (Sam's 8-year-old sister) sat in as the temporary vocalist. She had been hanging out during all the rehearsals and the boys were surprised to find out that she had learned all the songs they were learning. She did such a good job as a temporary replacement that the boys eventually voted to make her a full-fledged member of the band.

In November of 2007, Sam Martinez of The Chicano All-Stars, invited the kids to open for his trio at a local pizza joint. Since the kids didn't have a drummer, Sam Martinez agreed to sit in for the brief set. The kids played Living After Midnight, Crazy Train and Anyway You Want It. Everyone's expectations were low (pre-teen rock bands don't usually have the best reputation for musicianship) , and the kids proceeded to blow the roof off the joint. 

After the success of their first gig, the kids entered the Seaside Community Talent Show and only had a month or so to find a pre-teen drummer. At the urging of drum instructor Karl Stearns, they met Harrison, who auditioned for the band and the chemistry was immediately apparent. Asking Harrison to join the band was easier than settling on a name for the band. The kids finally chose "Population 5" because they were forced to choose a name for the talent show entry form.

Their performance in the talent show was well received. Once again, they surprised the audience with a polished performance of "Get Up" by Juliette and the Licks.  And although they didn't win the talent show, their video from the performance was posted on YouTube and caught the attention of Juliette and the Licks, and Dave Grohl (former drummer of Nirvana and current frontman for The Foo Fighters). Dave Grohl performed drums on the original version of Get Up and was reported as being so moved by the performance that it brought tears to his eyes.

Consequently, the Licks put the Population 5 video on their website and thousands of Licks fans from around the world viewed it and hundreds of them sent enthusiastic praise to the kids. Shortly after that, the kids posted a video of their cover of "Beautiful Tragedy" by In This Moment. Chris Howorth, lead guitarist for In This Moment, saw the video and invited Population 5 to attend one of their concerts in San Francisco where the kids watched the show from the wings and Emma was invited on stage to sing Beautiful Tragedy  with Maria Brink (the lead singer for In This Moment) for the finale. The crowd went nuts, the kids were thrilled to be part of a real rock concert and they got to hang out in the tour bus with the band after the show.

Most recently, Population 5 won The First Annual Paul Green School of Rock Battle of the Bands at the San Mateo County Fair which emphasized young bands playing original music. Population 5 just finished recording their first album. And Sam was named a finalist in the 2009 International Songwriting Competition.

Come out and support these young power houses that are truly beyond their years!

Special performance:

Where: Planet Gemini, 2110 N. Fremont Street, Monterey, CA. 93940

When: Friday, December 04th at 6:30pm

Tickets: $10 at door

Instrumentation
Sam Griffin-Ortiz, guitar, vocals
Emma Griffin-Ortiz, vocals, keyboard
Ellis Lindenthal, guitar
Harrison Spencer, drums, vocals
Zakk Colburn, bass guitar

Website: http://www.liquivista.com/population5/