The band Candlebox got its start in the 1990s, long before the drummer who will join them on stage in their Dallas show on Saturday was born.
'I was scrolling through one day," Candlebox lead vocalist Kevin Martin said, describing how he stumbled on 11-year-old drummer Austin Arbelaez's Instagram feed. "I just ended up going in a rabbit hole with everything he was doing. I started out as a drummer when I was 10-years old as well. I was just totally inspired by his playing."
Arbelaez lives in Aledo. He posts videos almost daily of him drumming to everything from Korn to Metallica.
"When you're a 52-year old guy that loves drums as much as I do and you see somebody that's got that much passion for it," Martin said. "My instinct was this kid has to jam with us at some point."
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That point is Saturday night at the Echo Lounge and Music Hall in Dallas. Martin invited Arbelaez to join the band on stage for a song.
"I've never played with a big band like this before," Arbelaez said. "I've just been practicing every day, and the song I'm probably going to play is 'You'."
The song from 1993 is one of Candlebox's hits.
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"The fact that Austin is playing one of our most difficult songs with us is pretty dang cool," Martin said. "It's a song in 6. It's not an easy song to play. He's just a master at it. It's really unbelievable! So I'm so excited to have him come up and jam with us."
"Makes me feel amazing," Austin said.
"What I love about music is it does connect all across the board. It doesn't matter what age you are," Martin said. "That's what you want as a musician is an opportunity to mentor in any way you can."
Candlebox and Austin Arbelaez will perform Saturday at 8:00 p.m. at the Echo Lounge and Music Hall in Dallas.
