As the guitar riff of “Brazil” by Declan Mckenna flowed from the open garage, the crowd swayed to the familiar melody on a recent Friday evening. Friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and curious onlookers alike tuned in to listen to the newest neighborhood garage band: Noise on Ragweed.
A band founded on a whim for last year’s annual Spring Music festival, Noise on Ragweed is comprised of lead singer Leilani Aboy (12), percussionist Anand Binu (12), bassist BQ Dang (12), and guitarists Max Riker (12) and Sean Le (12).
The group met in guitar club, a place where they could explore their love for music. According to Riker, the guitar club’s president, their shared interest in music is what brought them together.
“I formed guitar club because I love playing the guitar and I thought it would be a good way to attract more people into the realm of music, and it did,” Riker said.
Shortly after meeting, the group wanted to find a way to gain exposure for their club. Although nameless at the time, the members came together to put on a show for people to enjoy.
“We formed our band for the Spring Music Festival,” Aboy said. “It was kind of like a funny ‘what if we did this?’ and then it turned into something that was fun and something real.”
After realizing their talent together in the Spring Music Festival, Noise on Ragweed started to plan for a show of their own.
Situated in Aboy’s garage, the members of the band rehearsed for their upcoming performance on June 17. All while preparing to perform, they strived to stay authentic and not take it too seriously, rather, to make music for the fun of it.
“We played the same way that we always practice,” Binu said. “We just opened the garage, cleared out the driveway, put a couple of blankets around, and we brought out food. I feel like we brought a really authentic type of vibe to it because it was exactly like how it would feel if you were watching us practice. We messed up a couple of times but we all just looked at the crowd and laughed it off.”
The band’s first show was a hit, with their set list including “Santeria” by Sublime, “Hotel California” by the Eagles, and “Teenage Dirt Bag” by Wheatus.
However, after the concert, the group decided that they needed a name. When a neighbor came to complain about the noise, Aboy said that they knew what they wanted to be called.
“Our meeting spot is on Ragweed Court and one time we got a noise complaint from one of my neighbors,” Aboy said. “My dad, instead of encouraging us to step down and be quiet, he told us to keep doing what we were doing because we are pursuing our interests. And that’s how we got our name.”
Despite the loudspeakers disrupting an otherwise quiet summer night, most neighbors didn’t seem to mind.
“When you’re playing with amplifiers in a neighborhood, quite often you’d expect people to get angry at you, but most people were actually encouraging us, which was great,” Riker said.
In the future, Noise on Ragweed hopes to make their next show a fundraiser.
“We will have another show and we want it to be a fundraiser,” Binu said. “If you come, you wouldn’t have to pay, but your donations will be good.”
By sharing their music, Noise on Ragweed has been able to build a sense of community surrounding their listeners, both at Westview and around Ragweed court.
“It was really nice that when we were playing, we looked out and we saw all of our friends, and even people that we didn’t really know,” Binu said. “For example, my friends and some of their friends started to talk for the first time and they met just because of the concert. Towards the end, to the songs that everybody really knew, everybody was standing with their arms around each other’s shoulders and they were swinging to the music. That feeling, I think for all of us, was more gratifying than anything else: seeing how our music brought people together.”
