Published: September 12, 2009 05:41 pm      

Finding his niche

Former Logansport resident looks for success with music.

It’s no surprise Bo Sadler had a natural hidden talent for playing music.

His immediate family has a number of musically talented performers. His mom, Missy Sadler, played clarinet. One sister, Bethani, plays acoustic guitar and writes music, and another sister, Bailey, plays clarinet.

His youngest sister, Zoe, wants to follow in Bo’s footsteps and learn to play the drums.

Bo, a former Logansport resident, has been playing music for three years and recently had the opportunity to open for a three-day festival in Colorado.

The 17-year old’s musical journey all started about three years ago.

His parents, Bernie and Missy Sadler, who are originally from Logansport, decided to move to the family to Guam four years ago. That’s where he came interested in music.

“I wanted to play bass because I wanted to be in a band,” Bo explained.

He began playing bass guitar and joined his first band, Dip and Dots. The band competed in a battle of the bands in Guam and ended up placing second.

Missy said the judges told the band members they would have placed first, but needed to have an original song instead of playing a cover.

After playing the bass for a while, Bo eventually asked his parents about playing the drums.

According to Bo, he wanted to be able to play a variety of instruments so he could be useful to anyone who needed him.

After his parents found him a used drum set, Bo took lessons for two months before his family moved to Colorado.

While in his new hometown, Bo stopped in a music store one day and was playing around on the drums there. As he played, one of the workers heard him play and asked if he was interested in joining a heavy metal band.

“He didn’t play heavy metal,” Missy said. “He went out and had a good time. The rest is history.”

Bo joined the band, which is known as Arch Angel.

“I was excited,” Bo said. “This was the first band I was able to play drums for and that was a new thing.”

He said the transition from a jazz drummer to a heavy metal drummer went smoothly.

The band consists of Bo on drums, 15-year-old James DuPlesys on lead guitar and vocals, 13-year-old Cole DuPlesys playing rhythm guitar and vocals, and 14-year-old Dylan McGuire on bass.

On May 2, the band took first place in the Jazz Aspen Garage Band contest in the high school category in Colorado. Winning gave the band members the opportunity to open for the Jazz Aspen Snowmass Labor Day Festival in Snowmass Village, Colo.

Bo admitted he didn’t expect the band to win simply because they were the only metal band competing.

In addition to each day’s live performances on the main stage, diverse live music could be seen on the two festival side stages. The festival also offered exotic food, drink and crafts.

The festival included bands such as the Blackd Eye Peas, Elvis Costello and The Imposters, Umphrey’s McGee, The Allman Brothers Band, and The Doobie Brothers.

The band played two 45-minute sets, which included two of its original songs and a variety of cover songs.

Bo described the setting as similar to Woodstock, with people camping in tents and campers. There was a huge stage with bands playing at all times.

The band played a July Fourth show in Russel Springs, Ky., for relatives and another show in Richmond, Ill., on July 11.

While visiting Logansport this summer, Bo’s family gave him a graduation party. That was the first time his local family members had the opportunity to hear him play.

“I think I did surprise them,” he said. “They said I did good.”

For Bo, playing music relaxes him. He also enjoys the feeling he gets when people cheer for the band during a show.

Never expecting to make it to where he is at now, Bo originally thought playing music would be something he did in his spare time.

“Finding this band really opened my eyes to what I could really do,” he said. “Anything is possible and I didn’t think that until I joined this band.”

When his mother first heard him play, she was amazed.

“I couldn’t believe the talent my son had,” Missy said. “He took lessons for two months and goofed off at the house, but the first time I saw him play in Colorado, I couldn’t believe it. He is so naturally gifted.”

Next on the band’s list is to start writing more songs. Once enough money is saved up to purchase studio time, Bo said the band wants to record a demo and start selling its music.

As for his own future with music, Bo said he wouldn’t mind making a career out of it.

“I would like to make this my full-time job,” he said. “I would really love to make money doing this.”

• Denise Massie is a staff writer at the Pharos-Tribune. She can be reached at (574) 732-5151 or denise.massie@pharostribune.com