OAK CREEK, Wis. — Four teenage musicians are bringing '70s and '80s classic rock to local stages. Broken Forty 5 band is made up of Derek Johnson on vocals and guitar, Nathan Endres on bass, Ben Rathke on drums and Colton Klingenmeyer on keyboard.
The group rehearses in the basement of the Johnson family's home.
"We practice every Sunday for a couple hours and we have dinner and just talk about what our set could be, future songs that we want to play," Rathke said.
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Their sets are full of classic rock songs.
"We agreed on some of the stuff that we could play and we think it suits the band very well, the style that we play," Derek Johnson said.
Derek plays on a guitar that belonged to his late grandfather.
"It reminds me of him," Johnson said. "And it's so cool to play music that he would have loved, and he would have wanted me to play on his guitar."
His father, Tyler Johnson, said he is proud of how far the band has come.
"I'm just so proud of him. I kind of get a little teary-eyed here," Tyler Johnson said. "I'm so proud of all the boys. They put in so much hard work, and they are down here playing, and they are just gelling. They've come a long way, even from this past year."
That hard work has taken Broken Forty 5 from basement rehearsals to performances at the local farmers market, a school event and even the Wisconsin State Fair.
"The whole experience of getting bussed in and being at a big event, like being treated like a big act," Endres said.
The teens hope to continue playing music after high school and eventually begin writing their own songs.
"Take it slow and just figure out what we like, our style and all that," Rathke said.
Broken Forty 5's next performance is scheduled for Nov. 28 at Black Husky Brewing's Holiday Market.
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