Music Mondays is ready to rock out with a fantastic local Rock-and-Roll band, Power House!
Austin Strnad (guitar/vocals) had the idea for Power House, when he was 19, back in 2015. The band has been through numerous lineup changes, but the current line up has been together since January of 2018. Sofie Abrams (guitar/backup vocals) and Austin met through a mutual friend and quickly found they had the same love for music and same ambitions for a music career. During the line up changes the band found themselves in need of a band member they could depend on, Mat Abrams, Sophie’s father, stepped up to play bass. The band went on to find a drummer and after several auditions they found Matt “double T” Mederios.
Sofie started playing the guitar when she was 13, her father helped guide her. “It all started when she heard the guitar solos in Crazy Train and Rock You Like a Hurricane, which is where she decided she wanted to be able to play like that. Her love for hard rock of the 60s, 70s, and 80s grew as she discovered more bands and when she met Austin it was like finding her musical twin.” The band added. Mat grew up in the 1970s San Jose, California where the music scene was thriving with bands who would become 80s metal greats. Learning on what was commonly known as a “drugstore guitar” he would upgrade his instruments as time went on. Austin started playing the guitar when he was 15 years old. His childhood idol was Angus Young guitarist for AC/DC. “He knew how to play all AC/DC songs, had every album, and it was all he listened to until he delved deeper into bands like Fleetwood Mac, 38 Special, etc. Austin began writing songs shortly after picking up the guitar and around 16/17…” the band said. Matt “Double T” started playing music 10 years after his youngest daughter went off to the dorms. The drum kit his daughter left behind for college sat unused and Matt decided to teach himself how to play. He would play along with the radio but the that soon was not hard enough for Matt. He soon found himself playing gigs. “Once that took place I was hooked for good, playing for an audience and feeding off the energy was a natural high I loved. I have played classic rock, old & new country, blues and even a Beatles cover band for a bit.Today with Power House we primarily play original songs based on an older hard rock genre that in my opinion never gets old.” Matt added.
The band’s name, Power House, is used because it defines the band in two words. When you hear their name, you know they are going to get to the point and bring a ton of energy to their performances. A lot of the lyrics the band uses are based on Austin’s personal experiences. For example, "First Dance With The Devil" is about how he got stood up on prom night. "Lot Lizard" is about the time he encountered a prostitute at a truck stop with his step dad in Lodi, California. And some of our lyrics are purposely stereotypical, based on sex, drugs, and rock n roll” The band said.
Power House faces some hardships finding a place to practice where people don’t call the police on them. The band is also working very hard trying to get recognition in the local scene. A great triumph the band achieved recently was their first show at the Knitting Factory on Dec 28th 2019! The band does have some goals they would like to achieve; getting a demo finished, booking a small west coast tour, getting signed to a label and making an album that goes platinum or gold!
If you are looking for a local band that is true rock-n-roll Power House is your band! They take influences from various musical influences from the 60s and 70s. This band is truly unlike anything that is in Boise. They rock out like classic rock bands but bring a new age feel to the music type. Music Monday had a chance to see Power House rock the Knitting Factory stage and we were blown away by their stage presence, energy and visual sense of joy for their music!
Social media: Power House Instagram: @powerhouserock74 You can find our demos at soundcloud.com/austinstrnad
Blog Written and Edited by Aaron/Amanda
Photo Credit Aaron