The Point

The Point

The Point

Kare Spears a Spot in the Grammy Band

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Ari Kare – Photo by Becky Lee

The moment has finally arrived; you are walking across the stage, shaking hands with a school administrator, and smiling for the cameras.
You have graduated from high school and completed a major milestone on your path to reaching your dreams.
As a Sea King, your aspirations are endless and you can’t wait for them to become a reality.
However, for one specific Sea King, Aris Kare, his dream has come true.
With aspirations of being a member of the Grammy Award Ceremony Band, Senior Aris Kare has been practicing the bass since sixth grade.
Every year the Grammy Academy selects about 30 young talented musicians from across the United States to perform at the award show, Grammy Celebration after party, and other special events during Grammy week.
They are also given the opportunity to record an album at Capitol Studios & Mastering, which is made available for purchase through iTunes and Amazon.
Making the cut to perform in this band is exceptionally difficult, given the fact that only two bass players are selected for the band.
Two years ago, Aris tried out for the band for the first time.
“I was so nervous, When I found out I didn’t make it, I was really upset,” said Kare.
After he tried out a second time, he didn’t make it as well.
“I started to lose hope, I was afraid if I tried out again, I wouldn’t make it,” said Aris. Even though this fear was at stake, he still did not give up.
A few months ago, Aris tried out once again. “I came super prepared, probably the most I have ever prepared for any audition,” Kare explained.
Finally, after weeks of nervous anticipation, Aris received a call from one of the Grammy Band managers. He told him he finally made it.
“It was the best call of my life, I had to ask the manager to repeat himself just to make sure it wasn’t a dream,” said Kare.
To prepare for the Grammy Band’s performances, Aris traveled to downtown Los Angeles for a week of Grammy Band Camp.
“It was long and tough… We had to work at least eight hours a day,” said Kare. “We had to prepare for about four actual gigs. There was one before Grammy night, one pre-Grammy show, one actual Grammy performance, and one post Grammy show.”
During the award show, five out of the 20 musicians that were present were selected to walk down the red carpet.
“It was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. I met some of my greatest heroes, from Ringo Starr to Paul McCartney,” said Kare.
Not only did Kare meet the remaining two stars of the Beatles, the band played for them at the night time gig before Grammy day.
“It was extremely nerve-racking playing in front of them and all the other stars, but it turned out well. I was so happy playing with my new friends, and I’m really glad everything turned out well,” said Aris Kare.
With 30 minutes left to the end of the ceremony, Kare and his band left the ceremony to play in the post Grammy gig.
“This gig was probably the most fun for me… I just played, almost completely relaxed, knowing I had just completed something most high school music players, including me have dreamed about,” said Kare.
With Grammy night coming to an end, it was finally time for Kare to return home.
After the night finally ended, Kare took time to reflect on the great times he had with his new friends.
“I made great friends with everyone in my band, some kids were kind of immature, but everyone ended up working hard together and I’m so proud of everyone in the band.” With all these new friendships, Kare via Facebook is having no problems keeping in touch.
Aris Kare has had an amazing adventure as a Grammy band musician.
Through perseverance and hard work his dream came true.
With an offer from Stanford University, the next stop for Aris Kare could be the “Farm”.

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