TEN23, a talented youth rock band from the Global Sound Music Academy in Broomfield, joined Sam Fuqua live on The Afternoon Sound Alternative on KGNU. The group, made up of mostly high school students, shared insights about their collaborative songwriting process, their passion for their instruments, and their dedication to performing together. They discussed how they balance school with band practice, their future plans, and the origin of their band name—TEN23, inspired by a police code meaning “arrived on scene.” The band treated listeners to a dynamic set of original music, showcasing their tight sound and enthusiasm for rock.
Sam Fuqua: TEN23 live on KGNU. Thanks, that was awesome. You guys tight? Good. First set? We’ve got a couple more from TEN23, who are out of the Global Sound Music Academy in Broomfield. Thanks for coming by. Appreciate it. Anybody with a mic? I’m gonna ask you to talk now. Let’s see… so, Maddie?
Maddie: Yes.
Sam Fuqua: How are you?
Maddie: Good, how are you?
Sam Fuqua: I’m doing all right. Good lead vocals. How long has this group been together?
Maddie: Me and Gus originally were in the band for about four years now, and then the rest maybe about a year, year and a half.
Sam Fuqua: Okay. And Liam, right? Guitar. What do you like about playing in this band?
Liam: I like playing in this band because the songs—they’re really awesome. The riffs and all that stuff. Just the way it all comes together musically. It’s the kind of music that I would listen to on my own.
Sam Fuqua: Do you write collectively, or is it someone bringing a song and everybody else learns it?
TEN23: Usually someone takes a riff, and then from there everybody just starts writing collectively.
Sam Fuqua: Okay. Do you want to introduce the rest of the band for us?
TEN23: Right in front of me, we have Res on guitar. To my right, we have Gus on bass. And then right over here on the drum set, we have Zach.
Sam Fuqua: Excellent. Why did you choose the bass, Gus?
Gus: Well, I started on drums, but the bass was the closest rhythm section, and I just fell in love since I picked it up.
Sam Fuqua: Yeah, it is the best instrument. It’s the power position in the band for sure. Nobody knows it—I just gave away the secret. Well, tell us a little bit about how you guys work together. Do you come to the music academy to practice, or what’s your process?
Gus: Usually every Thursday we come for about two hours at Global Sound and practice our sets for our next performances.
Sam Fuqua: Do you attend school?
Gus: I just graduated high school.
Sam Fuqua: Congratulations.
Gus: Thank you.
Sam Fuqua: And the rest of you? Are you in school currently? Well, not for the summer, but—
TEN23: I’m gonna be going into my junior year of high school.
Sam Fuqua: Okay. So you’re mostly high school students?
TEN23: Yes.
Sam Fuqua: Broomfield area?
TEN23: Yes.
Sam Fuqua: Congratulations. So what are your plans for the future of this band?
TEN23: I plan to stay in it until December. I’ll try to do it next year depending on how much time I have. Other than that, I’d be going to college.
Sam Fuqua: Excellent.
TEN23: I plan to stay until there’s no more band.
Sam Fuqua: And what about you, Reyes?
Reyes: Yeah, I plan on staying until probably when I graduate. So I’ve got another year, because next year’s my senior year. I’m probably gonna stay as long as I can.
Sam Fuqua: What do you love about playing guitar?
TEN23: It looks really cool to other people.
Sam Fuqua: It does look cool. That’s a cool-looking guitar. Zach, I gotta step over here to the drums and talk to you. The drummer always has a lot of work to do with moving the gear, but as you know, Zach, a band is only as good as their drummer.
Zach: I can’t take all the credit, but I do like to try to keep people together at least.
Sam Fuqua: What do you like about playing music?
Zach: I’ve always loved music. When I was young, I asked my dad for a drum set. He eventually got me one at seven, and I fell in love with music. Being able to play to it was very special to me.
Sam Fuqua: We appreciate you all coming in and playing for the KGNU audience this afternoon. Somebody tell me the origin of the band name TEN23. Does it have an origin?
TEN23: I guess it does. We’ve tried so many band names, and I guess we just stuck with TEN23. Gus actually came up with the band name.
Sam Fuqua: Is it somebody’s birthday or something?
TEN23: It’s a police code that I found, and it’s “arrived on scene.” It just kind of seemed fitting, and we stuck with it.
Sam Fuqua: I like it.
TEN23: Yeah.
Sam Fuqua: TEN23 has arrived on the scene here at KGNU. They’re gonna play a couple more songs live from the cabaret on The Afternoon Sound Alternative. Thanks to George Figs for engineering and making it sound good, and thanks to Mateo and the Global Sound Music Academy for all you’re doing for youth music education. We appreciate it.
TEN23: Yeah.
Sam Fuqua: If people want more information?
TEN23: GlobalSoundStudio.com. We’re on social media at Global Sound Studio.
Sam Fuqua: And TEN23?
TEN23: We’re on all platforms at TEN23 Band—it’ll be TEN and then 23.
Sam Fuqua: Okay, on all platforms. All right, let’s hear a couple more songs. Thank you again for coming in. TEN23 live on The Afternoon Sound Alternative. Thanks.
