The Paly Voice sat down with drummer and guitarist junior Gabe Cohen to talk about his musical background, band experience and goals for the future. He has been an advocate for positive change at our school and the community by joining the Social Justice Pathway in his sophomore year.

As reported by Cohen, he was an energetic child earning him the nickname “the rocket.” He started his music career when he learned the drums in second grade because he wanted a way to let out all of his energy.

“What really brought me into music was the movie ‘School of Rock,’ with Jack Black,” Cohen said. “That movie really inspired me to play and learn music and it showed me how beneficial music can be to your soul.”

According to Cohen, music has been an outlet and a place where he can be himself. He added that as he gets older, his music tastes change and are always growing.

“I really like the emotion in music,” Cohen said. “I like when you can actually feel what the artist is feeling through music. That’s why I like punk music, because it’s angry, it’s loud, it’s pure emotion. I also like folk music, where there is nothing else in it except the emotion.”

Cohen is part of multiple bands and has different goals for each of them. One is the School of Rock, which is a national after school program that allows teenagers to play rock music in a band and creates an open community for music lovers.

Cohen participates in the Palo Alto program but there is also a program located in San Jose. He also has bands that are just for fun with friends, where they just relax and jam out without any stress or pressure.

“I think my favorite gig I’ve ever played in was last summer when I threw a concert in my basement,” Cohen said. “A lot of people came. That was a really cool experience for me because it was one of the first times I planned everything for myself and it really was an amazing experience.”

Below is Cohen’s Spotify playlist where he picked some of his favorite songs.