In the summer of 2014, the band Ataxia played on stage in front of hundreds of people during the Vans Warped Tour. Devon Drusky, the band’s vocalist, received a call to play on the tour during the wake of his grandmother, who had passed away less than a week before the performance. His grandmother had raised him, and he felt the reason he was on the stage at the time was because of her.  He felt her presence at the performance and passionately dedicated a song to her, feeling that nothing could have gone better that day.

Ataxia, which consists of five members, officially began in June of 2013. RHS graduates Jordon Marich and Ricky Alkire met other local musicians Brian Clark, Devon Drusky and Ryan or “Rondo” Task through old schools and mutual friends.

The band came up with the name Ataxia after listening to an instrumental song by another band called Within the Ruins, one of their musical influences. Drusky spoke of the band’s other influences.

“Within the Ruins, Ghost Inside, Day to Remember, and August Burns Red are the top four bands that influence our musical playing,” Drusky said.

Ataxia voiced that they wanted to play metal for a number of reasons. Marich, the drummer of Ataxia, found he likes the idea of a band because of the freedom and independence to work with something that he created on his own. According to Marich and the other members of Ataxia, playing metal music releases the tension and the frustrations of a long day.

“We want to challenge ourselves with what we can do instrumentally because [metal music] is not the easiest genre to play. Metal music has a passion you can’t find anywhere else. When people struggle or have a hard day, and they don’t feel accepted, they turn to music. It’s their release. I guess that’s how we all started. We all needed something to turn to,” Marich said.

According to the band, everyone did not always get along at first. Marich explained the group’s rocky start.

“In the group, not everyone is going to think exactly like you are. When you are young, you are immature and want to do things your way. You need to have everyone on the same page, and that’s why we are all here. We had issues with each other. Most immature people fight, give up and don’t talk to each other anymore, but a strong relationship means you can fight and become better out of it. We fight and resolve. If we don’t agree with something, it’s better to say it rather than just hold it in,” Marich said.

As stated by Marich, Ataxia first performed together in the “middle of nowhere” in front of a significantly low number of people. Drusky’s microphone kept coming out, and the audience could not even hear him.

“It was one of those situations where we wanted to get on stage; we didn’t care where it was. It was really uncomfortable, but everybody starts somewhere. I wouldn’t take it back. You almost need those experiences to make you who you are now. Those negatives really help you learn and grow,” Marich said.

After their first performance and through an abundance of promoting by the individual band members, Ataxia gained opportunities to play at multiple shows.

According to Alkire, the bass guitarist of Ataxia, the band has played approximately seventeen shows so far. Marich explained the reasons behind choosing concert dates.

“It sounds like a little number, but we space out our shows probably once a month. At first we used to play as often as possible, but we want to have people actually come to the shows, come and spend money and see us. We take a lot of things into consideration where we are going to play. Probably ten percent of the shows we are offered we end up accepting,” Marich said.

Several of the band members felt that they were shy in school and joining a band improved their social skills. Marich believes joining a band helped him make friends.

“Before the band, I was really introverted. I really didn’t like being around people. And when I met Clark and [the other band members], I felt not only do I have a close group of friends but now I have almost brothers because we can turn to each other for anything,” Marich said.

According to Task, Ataxia’s guitarist, forming a band became a goal for the members of Ataxia since they were children. Task spoke of his love for supporting local bands like Ataxia even before he joined a band.

“Ever since I was thirteen, I wanted to be in a metal band. [Drusky] told me about Ataxia a year ago and I was really impressed. A year later, I’m in the band and that’s an awesome feeling,” Task said.

According to Drusky, Ataxia’s music and song lyrics focus on different topics. The band, particularly Drusky and Clark, writes all of its songs about their own and other’s difficulties.

“Everybody goes through different things in life. The whole message behind Ataxia lyrics for the most part is [if you] fall down, step back up. Life is a constant battle, but keep fighting for what you truly want in life, and you can never really lose. It’s a positive message behind every song. We write songs for us and for people we know in third person. It’s not always just about us. It’s about them,” Drusky said.

Because metal music targets a specific audience, the band decided to diversify song choice. Marich explained what they plan to do.

“We decided it’s best for our own interest and also for the interest of hopefully expanding our target audience to diversify the sound a little bit, so we are actually writing a song right now with little to no screaming in it . . . With this, each song hits a new group of people,” Marich said.

The band recognizes that many people do not have knowledge of metal music. Drusky explained why he thinks many people associate metal music in a negative manner.

“People have their own perception of metal. We’ve been told we were protected by the devil, which is the wrong perception of metal. There’s something in [metal music] that people don’t see. You have to look past the vocal aggression and listen to the lyrical meaning,” Drusky said.

The band members used Facebook to get in touch with friends and spread the knowledge of the band. Marich explained that once the band established themselves on Facebook, promoters who schedule shows and performances began to get in touch with them.

Ataxia’s recognition by the Vans Warped Tour began when the band won finals at the Battle of the Bands. According to the members, Ataxia then went through an intricate selection process to be admitted into the Vans Warped Tour. They beat eighty other metal bands for the spot to play on the Tour.  The Tour chose 200 out of the 3000 bands that auditioned to play. Marich explained the contest to play in the Tour.

“The contest goes nationwide and they take certain bands to play each city. They all enter this big online voting contest. We were the only metal band [to play at the Tour],” Marich said.

When the band performed at the Vans Warped Tour this summer, they played a total of six songs. The members referred to it as the best day of their lives. Task spoke of the star-struck feeling of playing on stage.

“You could see people walk by and you could see them noticing [us] and stopping. That feeling was unbelievable,” Task said.

Because of this performance, the band was offered many more opportunities to play. Marich explained the band was offered a headline at the House of Blues the same day they performed at Warped Tour.

According to Alkire, the band hopes to sign with a record company and go on tour. Drusky expanded upon the band’s hopes for further success and their goals.

“Every year, we set unrealistic goals to keep ourselves persevering. If we keep raising the bar and accomplishing our goals, I don’t see an ending to it. I don’t see it ever fading, ever ending, and I don’t see our passion for it ever going away,” Drusky said.

The band is currently working on another small album, or extended play, with about seven songs that will be released mid next year.  The band also continues to strive toward a sequel at the Vans Warped Tour. Their next concert is on December 3rd at the Cleveland Agora Theatre.