Three years ago [spring 1996], sophomores Luke Thompson, Jared Remer and Micah Haar were recruited by Noah Izzat to join him in his one-man band, the self proclaimed "Gnaw," and play a song for the 1997 MLS talent show.

That night they got a taste of rock stardom, and they liked it. They liked it so much in fact that they themselves, minus Noah, practiced and became Merryweather's Magnetic Fantasy. With Luke Thompson, lead vocals and guitar, Jared Remer, lead guitar, and Micah Haar, bass guitar. For the band to work they needed a drummer; Adam Pringle became that man. They performed a number of cover songs at the Halloween party in ‘97, and came back to play the Christmas party the same year. Another school year went by and the band became reduced to two, Jared and Luke. It seemed that Merryweather had had her last magnetic fantasy. Drumless and bassless they found help in two old friends. Enter Seth Kock, drums, and Mark Schroeder, bass guitar, whom Luke had played with for the ‘98 junior-senior banquet. They became the present Dustradio.

Asked by fellow senior and music buff, Brian Lynch, to play his big homecoming party, the guys agreed, but found a problem when they realized their equipment would never accommodate anything outside of MLS. Far from beaten, they fought back and asked their fans for help. Luke Thompson began walking around school, armed with a notepad and a Chupa Chups pail, asking everyone he met for any small donations they wished to give. After many generous donations by a very supportive student body they ended up collecting almost $320. With their newfound riches they bought the appropriate equipment and spent days practicing in Seth's basement. They did perform at Brian's party, in their first live performance as Dustradio. Two months later another Christmas party and another performance by the boys, this time with all original songs. The student body was hooked. Turned on by the newfound fame, front-man Luke Thompson saw the chance to become something big, just like he had always dreamed. He began making Dustradio t-shirts for his friends. In no time flat it seemed that everyone wanted one and became almost a business for him. Business is good and Luke is still rolling out the shirts and rolling in the dough, the t-shirts cost about eight dollars apiece, most of the proceeds go to expenses, but the profit is used to buy the band more much needed equipment. Recently, Dustradio played another talent show, but due to a wrestling injury Luke was unable to perform. Left without a singer, Seth, Jared, and Mark still went on, with Mark on lead vocals singing an original Thompson-Kettler song, "Superman Lunchbox," which was played beautifully if I do say so myself.

Luke Thompson has written around a hundred, or more, songs. He has told me that most of his songs are written about "Things I'm thinking about, or the things I've experienced." These elements are found throughout his songs, such as, Wish I Could Show You To My Mother, a song about a girl he once cared very deeply about and whose name has been kept a secret from even his closest friends, Roots, a very personal song. He has also assisted the rookie junior band, Hello, Oscar!, in the writing of quite a few of their songs, for example, the epic, Hitchhiker's Melody. Luke has also said of songwriting, "When I think of a song in my head I don't hear just the guitar part, or the melody. I can hear an entire band playing in the background." All of Dustradio contributes as a whole when a new song comes around. Seth can just listen to a song and know how he wants the drums. Mark is a very aggressive bassist and a good backup singer. Then, there's Jared, who plays the guitar just like ringing a bell, and is also a master of distortion.

Though this is the band's last year here at MLS they are devoted to staying together, having all already enrolled at Martin Luther College for the next fall semester, they plan on making it their new base of operations. So if you ever feel like catching a gig, you're gonna have to hitch a ride to New Ulm, Minnesota. Trust me though it'll be worth it, with all that talent along with the drive to become bigger and better they're sure to become much more than some high school hardcore band. They're on the road to greatness, driving a top of the line sports car with a full tank of gas and trunk full of soul.

DUSTRADIO HISTORY