by Michael Krapovicky | photography by Jose Leiva
Very seldom is the focus of the Music Spotlight a band that has members who are too young to vote, with only a few shows under their belt. But the musicianship of Crosshair and their ardent commitment to performance belies their age. The teenagers met through the storied LA institution, Brian Gagnon’s Camp of Rock, and guided by Gagnon and other mentors, the teens began playing open mikes and having guest appearances with local artists and are rapidly building a solid reputation within the Lewiston Auburn area.
Background
Brothers Zander and Blake Dow, currently 12 and 14 years old, were encouraged by family members who noticed their early aptitude for guitar and drums respectively.
“My grandfather Gary Dow has been so helpful,” Zander says. “Also, my uncle, Paul Ouellette, gave me his Marshall amplifier.”
Blake and Zander’s journey with their chosen instrument was one of self-discovery.
“I was into the drums since I was two years old because of my grandfather,” Blake says. “He had an old kit, and at first, my parents would have to make me play it, but when I found I could play along with music and learn that way, I got excited to learn.”
The brothers fostered each other’s respective talents.
“I’m self-taught—I started playing guitar when I was eight,” Zander says. “I didn’t really get serious until my brother and I started playing music in the basement.”
14-year-old Griffin Violette began, as many bassists do, playing six-string guitar.
“One summer, I had nothing to do, and I had a guitar in my basement,” muses Griffin. “I signed up for lessons at Main Street Music. After Crosshair needed me for bass, I started taking bass lessons there with Darren Hicks.”
Frontman
As a very young child, Zane Deletetsky, dreamed of being a musician, even carrying a makeshift paper guitar to bed at night. His ambitions were fostered by his family, especially his aunt Serena Fortier, a lifelong performing artist with bands like the New York Funk Exchange.
“I started with piano lessons with Brian Gagnon when I was seven, but my aunt bought me my first real guitar,” Zane affirms. “I started listening to Ozzy Osbourne, and Randy Rhoads impressed me with his soloing. I used to play Slipknot and Metallica songs, and ‘Seven Nation Army’ by the White Stripes.”
As with the other members of Crosshair, Zane—the eldest of the four at fifteen—cites his experience at Camp of Rock as the catalyst for his current passion for performance.
“I took virtual guitar lessons from my aunt during COVID,” Zane says. “But it was Camp of Rock where I got really driven to playing and singing.”
Zane also performs solo and began playing acoustic songs as a guest of local artists and at open mikes.
“I do have solo material where I do things that wouldn’t necessarily fit in a band situation, a more stripped-down set,” Zane maintains. “Josh Hatfield let me open for him at Sea40 Japanese Cuisine and Ernie Gagne had me split a set with him at 84 Court Restaurant.”
History
Blake and Zane have been friends since the fourth grade.
“Before Camp of Rock, Zane and I played music together,” Blake recounts. “I knew Griffin just from gym class, but we just would say hi; we didn’t really know each other well.”
Then, at a Camp of Rock event, the first incarnation of Crosshair had their debut performance.
“It came about because we were grouped together to play one song, but then decided to do ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ by Metallica instead,” recalls Zane. “We actually had a different drummer who was supposed to play, but they were sick, so Blake became the drummer, and Griffin played the cymbal on a stick.”
“It wasn’t supposed to happen,” says Blake. “When it did, it was kind of epic.”
The Camp of Rock experience pushed the teens to form a band on their own.
“We asked Griffin to be in it but told him he had to play bass because no one else wanted to,” Zane jokes.
Griffin was fine with the change in instrumentation.
“Bass is fun,” says Griffin. “It makes the song.”
Sticker
The band’s search for a name was fraught with indecision.
“We were looking around just naming things in the room, wall, pole…?” Zane acknowledges. “We threw ideas against the wall until something stuck.”
Then, they noticed a sticker looking through a gun’s scope, which got some ideas percolating.
“I suggested Optic as a band name,” mentions Blake. “Then Zane said, ‘How about Crosshair?’ and we all thought that was much stronger.”
Wide open
With the lineup and name set, the boys aren’t limiting themselves to a specific genre, playing songs from Nirvana to the B-52s, and are open to all avenues to performance.
“Our first shows were just playing in the basement for our parents and friends,” Blake says. “Then we played at an open mike at Fast Breaks, and Chris Chessey from Ish reached out and asked us to open for them at their show at Lost Valley.”
Several hundred people were in the audience at the Ish show, the largest crowd the kids had played for under their name. Within their set was ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’ with the clanging percussion instrument now an empty Lost Valley Brewing beer keg.
Future
The Crosshair folks have no plans to stop and also add original material to their set.
“We have a thousand works in progress,” Blake asserts. “We just have to buckle down and write out our ideas.”
As young folks preparing to finish high school, the band Crosshair has a nebulous future. Yet the fun and camaraderie the boys are experiencing has no end in sight, and making the next show the best yet seems to be their raison d’etre.
“After high school, we’d like to continue to play and do professional shows,” Blake confirms. “Once school’s over for the summer, we’ll have more time to get together. We try to meet at least once a week, even now.”
“I want to stay in the music field,” Zane says. “I want to keep this going.”
Crosshair
Instagram: @official_crosshair
