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always been Stay Tuned, so we decided to keep it that way," Jacob said. That turned out to be a wise decision since the other set of twins had too many conflicts and left after a few months. Left without a drummer and a bassist, Jacob decided to reach out to one of his musical mentors Bill Morgan (bassist) and cousin Matt Vara (drummer). Morgan jumped at the chance to be musically involved with what he called, "two of the greatest entertainers I've ever seen." This was a great compliment as Morgan is a veteran musician and a part of one of the most famous bands in Peru, The Mads. The Mads performed in Peru from 1966 to 1969, giving live concerts and entertaining at parties, although they never recorded an album. In the past few years, one of the members of The Mads started posting videos of their songs online, and, just like that, the band was uncovered again. They have been featured in six magazines, including Peru's Rolling Stone Magazine, and are currently the subject of a documentary. Vara started playing drums when he was 18 and found he had a knack for it. "I have been in several bands over the years, including Against All Odds," Vara said. He is married to the Stibbie boys' cousin, so he was happy to be doing something he loved with family. Jacob Stibbie was musically gifted from a very young age. At age three, Jacob asked for a drum kit for Christmas; his parents bought him one thinking it would soon just be another toy forgotten. But were they wrong. "Jacob didn't just play with the drums, he PLAYED the drums," Kim Stibbie said. He asked to take lessons and after a couple of years, his instructors said there was nothing else to teach him, calling him gifted. Later, when Jacob was in middle school, he started to play bass guitar. He had a neighbor who always bragged about playing guitar. "He thought he was so cool and would always tell everyone at school that he was the best musician. It kind of annoyed me, so I decided to learn to play guitar," Jacob said. He ended up loving the guitar and started taking lessons. " He learned to play every genre — classical, jazz, rock. That really raised his skill level," Kim said. Jacob has also been playing basketball since he was three. He is currently playing on the Yucaipa High School's JV team. Jacob says he really enjoys basketball. "I think my brother could be a professional basket player one day," Jacob's sister Mackenzie said. But Jacob says his career will always be in music. "I don't care if I'm the lead singer or just tuning a band's guitars, I have to be involved in music," Jacob said. Most people who see Jacob play say the music just flows out of him. Some of Jacob's friends say he makes it look so easy, but Jacob practices three to four hours a day. Thomas was also a born performer. When he and his twin brother Jacob were three, they would both put on bandannas and perform N'Sync's hit song, "Bye, Bye, Bye." In the fourth grade, Thomas decided to perform in his school's talent show. "I was inspired by the Hawaiian singer Iz, so I sang 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow.' When I finished, all my friends and family were crying. Nobody knew that a kid like me could sing like that," Thomas said. Thomas wants to make singing a career. "When you're on stage, especially with our band, you get to use another persona and become someone else. Plus, I still get to sing. So it's the best of both worlds," Thomas said. Thomas loves practicing with the band. He says their practice sessions usually last about three hours. "Once we get everything perfect we take a break. Then we start over from the beginning and practice it all again," Thomas said. Thomas also loves to act. He is very passionate about Yucaipa High School's Diversity Week, so he and his friends are currently busy writing scripts that they can perform. His sister Mackenzie thinks very highly of her brother's acting skills, "He is really good at acting and becoming another person." Thomas and Jacob's band "Stay Tuned" will play a benefit concert for the Yucaipa High School basketball team Sat., Jan. 25, at Yucaipa High School at 7 pm. To learn more about Stay Tuned or to hear them play, you can visit Facebook.com/ staytunedband. OUR YUCAIPA | JANUARY 2014 9

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