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26 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 23, 2007 www.oakvillebeaver.com Artscene Oakville Beaver · WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2007 Parallel Twelve has shot at Emergenza title By Andrew Fruch SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER For some people, talent simply comes naturally; for a group of Oakville teens, nothing is more natural than talent. Although none of them are older than 16, Harrison Castleman, Justin Blain and Giorgio Pasqualini sound like they've been playing in a band together for at least 16 years. Their band, Parallel Twelve, has been competing in an international music competition known as Emergenza, and they have made it to the Ontario regional finals. "We've been together for about a year now," said Castleman, the band's drummer. "Our first gig was in June last year, where we played at a pub in Burlington, the Black Bull. And from there on, we have been getting a lot of compliments and people have been saying they've enjoyed hearing us play." The band won its first two competitions in Toronto, and placed second in the semi finals. On June 16, they will play in Toronto again, and if place near the top, they will advance to the national finals in Montreal. From there, it would be off to Germany for the international finals, with a guaranteed recording contract as the grand prize. With influences from all genres of rock, Parallel Twelve is capable of pleasing a large variety of tastes. "We play such a wide variety of rock," said the bassist, Blain. "It lets (us) cater to a lot of different audiences, we get a lot of different age groups following us." The teens have managed to master their instruments in a relatively short amount of time. Both Blain and Castleman have only been playing about two years with Pasqualini BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER ON THEIR WAY: Oakville band Parallel Twelve -- (l-r) Justin Blain, Harrison Castleman and Giorgio Pasqualini -- are performing in the Emergenza Ontario regional music competition on June 16 with a chance of earning a spot at the national competition in Montreal. playing guitar almost four. They credit their progress to a love of playing music. "When I started playing guitar I just could tell, even when I was pretty bad, that I loved it," said Pasqualini. "I just kept playing, and I would play a lot." Castleman had previously played in a band with Blain "just for fun," but after he met Pasqualini and heard him play, he decided forming a band with his friends would be a good idea. Although this is Pasqualini's first band, both his band mates feel he is more than capable of handling the band experience. "Giorgio is known throughout our school as one of the best guitarists," said Blain. "Actually he probably is the best guitarist at our school, but he denies it." The band is obviously doing something right. Besides making it to the Emergenza Ontario regional finals, they have been asked to play in front of a group of producers from Universal Records and Road Runner records on May 24. The success of Parallel Twelve has the teens surprised and hopeful of a recording contract in the future. "We would be amazed, we really would," said Castleman. "Right now, we're in school, we're still in Grade 10, we don't really know where (we're) going to go in our future, and anything could happen. So if this were to happen, it would be incredible. It's definitely a dream." The progress they have made as a band while only being in their midteens has been a good learning experience for them and their band, especially considering the other bands they play with are usually much older. "It raises our confidence and our ability and stuff like that," said Blain. "It's pretty cool, because all the older bands come over to us and congratulate us, and say that we deserve our first position. It's really cool to be recognized from more experienced players." However, even with their past success and future opportunities, the band members are still looking to add another member into the mix. They are looking for a singer who can complete the musical experience. But any singer who wants to be part of Parallel Twelve has to be able to fit their style and keep up with their level. "We don't just want any singer," said Castleman. "We are looking for the right singer, we know that they can make or break the band." Until they find the right voice to compliment their music, they will continue to do their best and make a name for themselves. With everything to gain, the teens have the support of friends and family to help them along their way to accomplishing their goals. "We're just amazed at how far they have gone," said Sandra Castleman, Harrison's mother. "They are having fun doing this and they want to do it, it's not as though it's a choir. Especially in the festival, against all these bands that are already doing so good, playing at different clubs, a group of 16 year olds have come through, having not played in anything big, so we're impressed." Show dates and demo songs can be found at the band's myspace page, located at www.myspace.com /paralleltwelve. LOOK FOR ® & Make Your Home Comfort More Affordable New ! 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