Lorenzo Jones and Ishan Trachtenberg, Rover

Story by Tiger Staff
Photo by Judah Silver, Contributor

Rover, a multi-influenced band, began with SPHS junior Lorenzo Jones and California School of Arts junior Roman Camarda, who have played acoustic guitar together since the seventh grade. The group later expanded in 2024, and is now comprised of six members: Jones on lead guitar, Camarda on vocals, SPHS senior Ishan Trachtenberg on bass guitar, Crescenta Valley High School student Willie Rhodes on drums, and California School of Arts student Aiden Chong on keyboard.

Rover draws their influences from multiple genres, experimenting with sounds from both rock and folk. Artists such as Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, and Lou Reed heavily impacted their unique sound. The band originally gravitated toward a classic rock feel, but has recently shifted to more experimental sounds, with influences stretching back to an 80s post-punk vibe.

Rover has performed at small venues all around the Los Angeles area, making an effort to play original songs in their performances. While they have recorded covers of several popular songs, the majority of their setlist is original. The band’s main songwriter, Camarda, draws his inspiration from historical events — one of the band’s acoustic songs, Madrid, features themes from the Spanish Civil War. 

“Some [songs] are cool because they’re kind of historical. Roman’s a huge history nerd, and he has a very storytelling style for a lot of songs,” Jones commented.

Jones describes the process of writing songs as a collaboration: Camarda typically drafts the lyrics, crafting a basic melody or chord progression, then works with Jones to create a guitar accompaniment. After devising the different elements, Camarda and Jones will “structure the song out” and then introduce it to the other members during Rover’s practice session.

“And a lot of times we kind of just jam, and it kind of just comes together on its own,” Jones said. 

Rover is currently working on producing their first single for Spotify, as well as planning to perform sometime in February at The Smell in downtown Los Angeles. As they continue with their music journey, they will remain avid members of the LA underground music scene.

Mav Swallow, drummer for Bone-or-Shark

Story by Isabella Jonasen
Photo by Helena Easterby

SPHS freshman Mav Swallow, the drummer of the straight edge hardcore band Bone-or-Shark, was a fan turned band member this past year. His interest in the drums began two years ago, and since then, it has become one of his greatest passions. 

His interest in the genre as a whole began with his intrigue in rock. He was inspired by artists like the Clash and the Jam, and later discovered the Dead Kennedys, which then slowly drove him under the hardcore umbrella. From then on, this admiration for the genre solidified his newfound moral beliefs in the adoption of the straight edge lifestyle. 

The handbook entails guidelines for steering clear of alcohol, tobacco, and recreational drugs for a lifetime, while also promoting a life of self-control. While some may find this to be a far-fetched ideal, Swallow says it is not very hard to follow through with these notions, and that it comes easier than it may sound.  

In his relatively new side project, a band called X til the end X, in which he plays drums and does vocals, he spoke about the importance of their track, True til done. The song explores the irritation felt by devoted members of the straight edge community when others who do not follow the central ideologies of the subculture coin themselves to be among the circle. 

Along with how it was saddening to witness their uncommittedness and weak-willed nature, Swallow reveals, “It’s a really important thing to me and many others, and then seeing people not care about it is disheartening.”

His self-proclaimed highlight while participating in the band took place at a show at Highland Park’s Oblivion, covering a well-known straight edge anthem called Straight Edge Revenge, which led to a major storm onto the stage courtesy of fellow attendees.

“It was really fun, it was beautiful to see my friends up there singing along, dancing, [and] having some fun,” Swallow said.

As of now, Bone-or-Shark has a total of three records released on Spotify, and soon another will be released. Despite its title and context continuing to remain a mystery, the final results sound rewarding due to the astonishing amount of time spent recording and producing the instrumentals and vocals for 23 tracks.

“If I’m being real, all the time that I’m here [at school], all I want to do is just go to my drum set and play some songs,” Swallow said.

Lil k, also known as Kian Mannal, is a sophomore musician dedicated to his craft of creating original songs and to being inspired by his experiences. 

His dream of writing and producing his own music has always been a part of him since he was young. His first inspiration for creating music was his passion and respect for the art. Mannal’s motivation, coming from artists like Stevie Wonder and Sombr, allowed him to release singles across many platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and Boomplay. 

“When I was making my first song, my friend who controlled my music and was in the process of uploading it, asked me what my name should be. I kind of went through the options in my head, and I was like, ‘Oh Lil k,” Mannal said. 

Even though the name originally felt generic to Mannal and was not chosen with intention, it ended up being exactly what he needed to push him toward releasing more music. Working with Kiki Studios, Lil k has released a wide range of singles since early 2024 and one album, Believe in Me, that same year.

Believe in Me features his first-ever creations in music, taking a pop-rap approach. The premise of the album is to show his true emotions towards the people surrounding him. This includes the title track, in which Mannal uses his music to tell his listeners to keep going with their dreams and prove the haters wrong, as he has. It is a message to keep going, no matter what others say.

In 2025, Lil K released six singles. The most recent ones being HEAVENLY, TOO FADED, and PARTY IN FRANCE (though Mannal has not, in fact, attended a party in France).

“I don’t really write a full song [when initially creating]. I kind of write a piece of it, like a chorus or a verse, and then I build the song [as he continues],” Mannal said. This method allows him to create and produce at a looser schedule, noting something down when he gets an idea and seeing where he can take it later on. 

As of now, Lil k does not have exact plans for releasing music in the future. Especially since he is still in high school, Mannal hopes to get sessions in and release them whenever he can. Still, Mannal’s dedication to his craft remains strong, and he hopes to continue to produce music and follow his passion.