Seniors, juniors and sophomores from different schools gather in senior Sophia Salmons’s basement and begin to jam. Three keyboards, a drumset, a few guitars, a mic and lots of energy vibrate the basement. From outside the house, neighbors can hear the jams and excitement as the band practices for an upcoming show. 

Salmons participates in a band called Amphibian with different students from Saint Ignatius and Lakewood. 

The band began in August of last year when two seniors, Luca Deliberato and Marty Bradesca, collaborated together and decided to create a band. Deliberato is the bass player while Bradesca plays guitar, writes songs and occasionally sings. The two went to Saint Ignatius and performed in the High School Rock Off at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, which is where their idea of a new band originated. Bradesca further explained why the two started the band. 

“Luca [and I], we played in a band last year with another kid from our high school, but after he graduated, we wanted to start a new band. We were at Disney World, and we started brainstorming ideas for a band, and we decided on a funk band,” Bradesca said.  

The name Semi Aquatic, along with a few other songs, relates to the band’s name, Amphibian. The name originates from an old idea Bradesca had and the band’s love for the Frog and Toad children’s books.

Since the two cannot just jam on their own, Deliberato and Bradesca found other members to complete their funk band. Keyboardist and trombone player Sean Bradesca joined the band because his brother Marty got him interested and the two brothers happened to both have musical talent. Sean explained his favorite part of being in Amphibian is another band member Ted Bucha.  

Bucha is a junior at Saint Ignatius and the drummer in Amphibian. He had never been in a band before Amphibian and wanted to try out something new where he could express his creative side. Bucha has played the drums for four years now. Sean explained why he enjoys having Bucha in the band. 

“[My favorite part is] Ted. I’m in the jazz band at school and last year he was the drummer and I had never talked to him, but this year, he joined the marching band and now I’m friends with him and it’s great,” Sean said. 

Along with the four Saint Ignatius players, Lakewood sophomore Jeremy Frolo plays keyboard, saxophone and writes some of the songs. Frolo talked about how long he has played different instruments. 

“I’ve been playing piano since I was three years old, so eleven years, and I’ve been playing saxophone since seventh grade. I don’t really write lyrics, that’s more of a thing for Marty or Sophie, but I’ve been writing songs just since I’ve felt like doing it,” Frolo said. 

Lastly, Revere senior Sophia Salmons rounds out the group with her voice. Salmons has been singing since kindergarten and enjoys the social aspect of the band and being with her friends. 

The six members started the band in August of last year and have played at different venues throughout Cleveland. Their first live show was at The Grog Shop in Cleveland Heights, where they played with the bands On Paper and Blair Blades. Deliberato explained why it was his favorite show. 

“It was our first show, the energy was there, all of our friends were there; it was awesome,” Deliberato said. 

Along with performing live, Amphibian played in the High School Rock Off at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame where they competed against many other bands. The band did not move on to the next round, but many members thought the event was their most fun gig. 

“Definitely the Rock Off [is my favorite gig] because we had so much energy and there were so many people there,” Salmons said. 

Frolo also enjoyed the Rock Off and was even offered a spot in a different band. 

“We got a lot of really cool photos from [the Rock Off]. I met some fun people. I actually got asked to possibly join a band that one of the guys was trying to make. I think I’m gonna do it, it was really awesome,” Frolo said. 

 Although the band is relatively new, half of the members are graduating high school and will not be around to perform. Seniors Deliberato and Bradesca are both heading to Ohio University to continue musically. Deliberato explained what he plans to do after high school. 

“I’m actually going to OU (Ohio University) for music education. . . I play tuba, and I’m looking to play [in an] orchestra there, I[‘ve] got to learn every instrument,” Deliberato said. 

Marty is also continuing his musical education and explained what path he wants to take.

“Next year, I’m majoring in music production in college, so I’m going to get first hand knowledge on how to do recordings and that stuff,” Bradesca said.

Salmons, on the other hand, does not have any plans musically in her future besides Amphibian, but instead she plans to continue her education at Paul Mitchell The School to learn cosmetology. 

Although the band has not yet released any music, Amphibian hopes to release music on Spotify soon. Deliberato explained the difficulty of recording. 

“It proves difficult. We have some equipment to record, the biggest problem is drums. . . [although,] being in a bigger space with more stuff we can pack in here I think we’ll be able to record. We’re trying to get out at least a single, probable Semi Aquatic, as soon as possible to get that outreach,” Deliberato said. 

Semi Aquatic is one of the band’s original songs created by different members but mostly Marty and Frolo. Marty explained why Semi Aquatic is his favorite song the band has written. 

“I think the most fun song we’ve written so far is called Semi Aquatic and it’s fun, but I think the instrumental came together pretty well, and we’re pretty proud of it,” Bradesca said. 

Amphibian plans to perform in early April at the Beachland Tavern in Cleveland Heights and has more gigs planned for the future.