It all started with a bucket and some drumsticks. Anthony Powles, junior, saw a Youtube video of bucket drummers in Chicago four years ago, and has been playing the drums ever since.

“I got super interested at how fast they were going and all,” Powles said. “With my dad being a contractor and all, I asked him if I could borrow a bucket and I think I grabbed some Rock Band drum sticks and just started playing.

Powles, who performed at Battle of the Bands this year with the Jimmy Carter Rabbit Incident, has been playing for four years and plans to pursue music as a career.

Q: How did you go from buckets to joining a band?
A: After finally convincing my mom to let me get a drum kit, I played by myself for a couple of years before joining my first band. Then I met some other fellow musicians who had some nice jam sessions. Playing with others instead of by myself inspired me to join more groups and play more gigs. That’s when I started playing charity events and Battle of the Bands. Playing live is such an awesome adrenaline rush, even if the songs I’m playing aren’t intense.

Q: What kind of bands have you been in or events you have done?
A: I met a former student from LZHS, Jason Krasavage, on a church retreat a year ago. We got on the topic of music, so we decided to get some people to jam and see if we could form a group. That was my first band, Stratford. With them, I played two semi-large gigs that we did for charity. I think we raised almost $2000 in total for various types of cancer, which is way more than expected. Because they are in college now, I don’t see them as much, so I got together with Keil Brady, [senior], and Chris Kerimidas, [junior], to do Battle of the Bands this year.

Q: What is your favorite part of playing the drums and being in a band?
A: Honestly I don’t know, it’s kind of weird. You just kind of feel it if that makes sense? Like say you’re jamming with other people and there’s  just a moment where everyone is connected.

Q: What’s your best memory or story of playing the drums in a band?
A: There was this point where I started getting super huge blisters and started bleeding under my skin on my hands. The skin got super raw and calloused and it was really painful, but it kind of made me happy because I knew I was progressing towards my goal of getting into a really good music school. For a band, the best part was the first gig I played. The audience was singing along and everything and there were lights everywhere. It was just like living a dream.