Musical Youth

Years after he launched a trio known as The Police to superstardom, Ian Copeland has big plans for another trio…of 14 year olds.

By Gene Mahoney

“I’m as excited about discovering this band as any of the bands I’ve worked with, including The Police, The Go Gos, The Bangles, Nine Inch Nails, Squeeze, Morrissey and The Smiths, The Ramones, UB40, XTC, R.E.M., The Cure, Simple Minds, B-52’s, Iggy Pop, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Gang of Four, Thompson Twins, The Fixx, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Joan Jett, English Beat, No Doubt –- any band!”

That’s what Ian Copeland told me on my last visit to the Backstage Café, the chic bar in Beverly Hills he owns with his two brothers, Stewart (former drummer for The Police), and Miles (founder of IRS Records). Ian followed in his siblings’ musical footsteps years ago by forming FBI (Frontier Booking International) and launched the careers of the bands mentioned above, as well as many others -- mostly punk/new wave ones from the early ‘80s. He also played a major role in the mainstream popularization of reggae by booking Peter Tosh and Black Uhuru.

“So fantastic are they that I’ve come out of a happy, albeit short-lived retirement from the music business to manage them. I honestly believe they could be as big, or even bigger than any band I’ve ever worked with in my life!”

That’s certainly high praise given his previous track record. So what new band is he talking about?

He takes me to his office and excitedly puts in their demo CD. Thundering pop-punk blares from the speakers. It sounds really good, as good as anything by Green Day or Blink 182. Ian’s rocking out to the music, apparently very sincere about his praise for the band. So what band is this?

“They’re called The Dares! And get this –- they’re only 14 years old!”

The Dares were formed by twin brothers Matt Peterson (drums and vocals) and Ben Peterson (guitar and vocals) in ’98 when they were only 8 years old. They grew up in Burlington, Vermont and performed their original music at teen clubs and schools throughout their home state as well as New York. Recently Matt and Ben moved with their parents to Whittier and added Martin Lascano on bass. Their first concert in California was at the “Project Band Aid” battle of the bands in Long Beach where they beat eight other bands, winning First Place for “Best Overall Performance”. Since then they’ve attracted new fans by playing some of Southern California’s most popular clubs, including The Whiskey A Go Go, Hougue Barmichaels, and the Hard Rock Café. On February 19th they played The Roxy and managed to attract a large, enthusiastic crowd (including Ian’s former sweetheart Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette) despite L.A.’s worst rainstorm in over a century.

“It was great,” Ian told me a few days later by phone. “The crowd went nuts for them! After the show we went next door to the Rainbow Room for drinks and this leather-clad rocker dude walks in and tells the bartender how disheartened he is because he just saw this great band made up of 14 year olds, and that he should hang it up now because he’ll never play music as well as them.

“These kids are only 14 and they’ve performed over 100 times and have written more than 80 songs.”

Which leads me to wonder –- what do you write about at such a young age?

“That’s just it. It’s an interesting paradox as the music has a driving sound and the lyrics about meeting girls for the first time, etc. have a much more innocent feel than the lyrics of older bands. I think they could be a great inspiration for younger teens to start bands or get involved in the arts rather than just play video games or whatever it is they do nowadays.”###

The Dares perform at iMusicast in Oakland on April 9th. Visit iMusicast.com for info. Ask “Uncle Ian” anything you want at backstagecafe.com. Oh, and get Ian’s autobiography
Wild Thing on Amazon.com or at the aforementioned backstagecafe.com.
It’s a page-turner.

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