So many of us don’t realize that the people we walk by every day could have a special talent or be part of an exciting activity that’s hidden from our day-to-day view, but actually has a huge impact on their life. 

A great example of this is Enochs sophomore Julian Lopez, drummer for the heavy metal band “Beheading of the Queen” centered right here in Modesto, California. 

The band is in its inaugural year of creation, and is another product of the Valley Music Institute (VMI), a local music organization centered around helping students form bands and learn how to gig and perform. 

“Beheading of the Queen” has been busy working to create good music for the people of Modesto and get their sound heard throughout the city – their hard work paying off in a nomination for a Modesto Area Music Award in the Youth Band category. 

The Modesto Area Music Awards event is one of the biggest events of the year for our local artists, and will be hosting their awards night at the State Theater downtown October 18th at 6:30pm. 

Part of what makes this award nomination so special – it’s a first step towards an even larger goal the band hopes to accomplish. Julian spoke about what it would mean for his band if they were to win this award;

 “It would honestly be amazing because then it just shows how much work we really put in. It just goes to show how you can’t get good just by practicing a little bit. You’ve got to commit one hundred percent.” 

Julian says it best, that the kind of goals the members are striving for can’t be achieved by only working a little bit, and “Beheading of the Queen” definitely knows what it means to work hard. The band, consisting of four musicians – a bass player, 2 guitarists (One being lead vocalist as well) and a drummer (Julian) – meet 2-3 times a week to practice and try to gig as often as they can. 

They have 3 performances this upcoming weekend alone, ranging from locations downtown across from the Gallo center to the VMI headquarters, they aim to reach as many people as possible with their music. 

While the band currently plays covers by some of their favorite artists, their hope is to start creating and writing their own music, “Right now we do covers but we’re working on originals to come out with because we’re trying to get big in the music industry.”  “Beheading of the Queen” isn’t just a highschool band, their goal is to continue pursuing music with the hopes of signing with a label someday and producing their own records for the masses. 

Julian himself spends most of his time around music – being a part of this band as well as the Enochs music program. He’s always been around it, in fact, from the very beginning his dad was teaching him to love music – particularly metal – and fostered a deep appreciation in Julian for what artists can do. 

While he spoke more of his band than focusing on himself, it was clear that Julian has a strong dedication to music and is ready to start achieving his goals of becoming a professional musician with “Beheading of the Queen.”

Each and every member clearly has a passion for what they are doing and couldn’t be more excited to be up for such a big award. To vote for your favorite band and help give “Beheading of the Queen” a rolling start in the music industry visit https://www.modestoareamusic.com/ before October 18th.