Being in a garage band has never been this cool. Parker Grissom, Rochester Adams senior, and his indie band have been cooking up something good. The band, Dogleg, is looking forward to the release of a new album, state-of-the-art merchandise, and a Midwest tour. Grissom’s unique experience growing up in the world of music shines through his love for what he does each day.

Q: When did you personally discover your passion for music? Did the love gradually develop, or was it an abrupt type of thing?

PG: I’d always loved music and listening to it, but it was around third grade when I decided to try playing drums; from then on, playing was all I would do! Eventually, I picked up bass in middle school and then guitar not too short after. My interest in playing and writing definitely grew a bunch over the years.

Q: Where/when/how did you learn to play the drums?

PG: I started taking one-on-one lessons at JC’s Drumming in Downtown Rochester in third grade. Eventually I moved to the School of Rock Rochester and started playing shows and starting bands.

Q: How did you meet the other boys that are in the band?

PG: I met both Alex Stoitsiadis and Chase Macinski through School of Rock. I think it was during the Red Hot Chili Peppers vs. Weezer show where we all first met and started playing together. Alex and Chase are actually RCS alumni, so it was easy to get together and mess around with music.

Q: How did you guys decide to form a band? Was it awkward at first when it came to working together?

PG: Dogleg actually started out as Alex’s solo project. Chase and I joined to help out playing live with her. We soon started writing together, getting more shows, and Dogleg eventually became the top priority for all of us. All three of us had already known and played with each other for years so working together came easy.

Q: How did you guys come up with the band name?

PG: There’s this Detroit band, Bear Vs. Shark, from around 10 years ago that both me and Alex obsess with, and one of their best songs is titled “Broken Dogleg”, so Alex decided to name his band after that!

Q: How would you guys describe your music genre?

PG: It’s hard to say. Different people will give you different answers. If I were to put it into words, I’d say dance-y punk meets indie.

Q: So with the other boys away at college, how do you guys rehearse?

PG: Sometimes we’ll practice at Wayne State and sometimes we’ll practice at UofM. Either way, I always have a lot of driving. Although, we did get a lot of rehearsing done over the summer to write/record the new EP so we could focus on playing shows over the school year. Once we started playing around two shows a week, we didn’t get around to practicing as much.

Q: Do any of you have specific people, places, or things that inspire your music?

PG: I personally look up to George Daniels of The 1975 for a lot of inspiration when drumming, but I’d say the band’s biggest influences are probably groups like Glocca Mora and Joyce Manor.

Q: What is your favorite song off of the first EP “Dogleg” ?

PG: My favorite is definitely “11 AM Drunk”. It’s also my favorite to play live, by far.

Q: You guys have had a good chunk of success lately, can you describe what happened regarding getting signed?

PG: So Table Three Media from Long Island had come across our first EP, (thanks to a close friend of ours who is close with the label) and from there we were immediately in contact with them. Now, our upcoming EP is going to be released under Table Three along with tons of merchandise including shirts, CDs, cassettes, etc. We’re also in the early stages of planning a Midwest tour around the release date of the new EP, which I couldn’t be more excited for.

Q: I’m sure you’re excited about the future of the band. Do you have any specific goals you want to accomplish?

PG: I’d love to tour more and just keep making music; that’s all I could ask for.

Grissom looks forward to completing his senior year with the love and support of his family, band mates, and fans. Readers can download and listen to Dogleg’s music as well as find out performance dates on their social media.