From the School of Rock:
Columbia High School freshman Misha Nicholas
Fourteen year-old Misha Nicholas, who’s about to enter his freshman year at Columbia High School in South Orange-Maplewood, was chosen to be a member of the School of Rock AllStars Band, which recently completed a national tour.
“Misha is one of our most dedicated and talented students,” says Kevin March, General Manager of School of Rock Montclair. “He was one of hundreds of School of Rock musicians from across the United States to audition for the AllStars opportunity, and we’re thrilled that he was selected to represent us.”
Nicholas submitted a video audition clip for the AllStars in February. He then took part in a live audition in April, and was notified in May that he was chosen to be part of the band. His fellow band members, which included School of Rock students from locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, assembled on July 16 for rehearsals in Atlanta and began a six city tour on July 19.
The AllStars’ itinerary included shows at rock clubs and venues through South and Midwest – including The Masquerade in Atlanta; Strange Matter in Richmond; The Grog Shop in Cleveland; The Ottawa Tower in Toledo; and The Neutral Zone in Ann Arbor. The tour’s final stop was a gig by Nicholas and his fellow AllStars for 7,000 attendees at the second annual Mo Pop Festival in Detroit on July 24, one of the Midwest’s premier indie music events. Mo Pop’s headliners included popular Bay Area rapper G-Eazy and shoegazing French electronic act M83.
“Every aspect of the AllStars experience was amazing,” says Nicholas, who sang and played keyboards on the tour and was featured on the AllStars’ performances of hits by Led Zeppelin, Blondie, P!nk, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Genesis, Jill Scott, Operation Ivy, and Mott the Hoople.
“Our schedule was insane: we’d leave each city early in the morning, drive to the next venue where we were scheduled to play, unloaded the bus, and got on stage. Even though we were only together as a band for one week, our shows just kept getting better and better. Everyone in the band knew their parts, was a great performer, and was super friendly.”
