Ham&High - Summer Fete Gig
Ambitious About Autism
The AutistiX: Rocking for autism
Saul’s liked music from the youngest age. He liked anything with a rhythm – jingles, doorbell chimes and all kinds of songs. Music is his channel to life: even when he could do little, being blind until he was a year old, unable to use his hands and not walking until he was three. Saul experiences everything through music, remembering the events in his life through the songs and music he hears wherever he goes.
Two of Saul’s three sisters played the drums so we luckily had a drum kit at home. One day, when Saul was eight, his sister’s music teacher sat him at the drum kit and he laughed with joy. We knew he’d love to play the drums, even though he barely had the strength to hold the sticks or kick the bass pedal. We hired an ABA tutor who was also a musician and used ABA to start teaching Saul to play the drums.
Our family listens to all sorts of music and we like to go to gigs, concerts and musicals with Saul. Saul loves all music, from nursery rhymes and opera to rock, pop and folk. He’s crazy about Bruce Springsteen and the songs Twinkle Twinkle and Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana are particular favourites.
Saul now plays the drums in The AutistiX, a band with two other young men with autism Jack Beavan Duggan on electric guitar and Luke Steels on bass. The other members are Jim Connelly, lead vocalist and music mentor, Jack’s father John, who plays electric guitar, and Saul’s father Michael occasionally plays harmonica. Saul met Jim at The Camden Society in 2010 and that’s where the band first began. Saul, Jack and Luke named the band The AutistiX and want to be successful musicians while also being upfront about having autism. The name signifies their identity as people with autism, which makes them special, unique and talented, while also coping with the challenges of their diagnosis.
The AutistiX tour Spain
The AutistiX did a five gig tour in Spain between 24 – 20 May with another band called Motxila 21, which includes musicians with Down’s syndrome. It’s amazing how it happened. We were on holiday in the Basque country last year and our hotel owner told us about Motxila 21 after he saw Saul watching videos of himself playing drums with The AutistiX. He said they should come and play with Motxila 21. Motxila 21 applied for a European grant for The AutistiX to go to the Basque country, accompanied by parents and carers.
The tour was amazingly successful, especially as all 15 of us hadn’t met Motxila 21 beforehand. The overall group coped well with the challenges of performing daily in three towns and cities. It was non-stop because we were travelling between towns, staying in different hotels, setting up for the gigs, sound checking, performing and then packing up again and moving on to the next gig.
The musicians also had to cope with the challenges of having autism, learning to make quick transitions, being in new places, eating different foods, spending all their time together and with unfamiliar people. The AutistiX were great ambassadors as musicians with disabilities and performing in front of crowds of over 200 people with little experience of autism.
Three regional Spanish papers interviewed The AutistiX about the tour with Motxila 21 and they went on regional television. They even met the Mayor of Pamplona, and performed with El Drogas, a well known Spanish musician.
I’m so proud of Saul and his achievements. He’s so rewarding and lives life to the full despite his severe and complex needs; he’s taking us on an incredible, unimaginable journey. To go from rehearsing weekly in my dining room to touring in Spain is something I could never have envisaged for the band. The AutistiX give so much pleasure to others and they’re entertaining as well as showcasing the musical talent and potential of musicians with autism. We’re hoping to get a grant for Motxila 21 to come to London so they can perform with The AutistiX and promote the musical talent of people with disabilities and encourage their inclusion.
[via www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk]
Saul’s liked music from the youngest age. He liked anything with a rhythm – jingles, doorbell chimes and all kinds of songs. Music is his channel to life: even when he could do little, being blind until he was a year old, unable to use his hands and not walking until he was three. Saul experiences everything through music, remembering the events in his life through the songs and music he hears wherever he goes.
Two of Saul’s three sisters played the drums so we luckily had a drum kit at home. One day, when Saul was eight, his sister’s music teacher sat him at the drum kit and he laughed with joy. We knew he’d love to play the drums, even though he barely had the strength to hold the sticks or kick the bass pedal. We hired an ABA tutor who was also a musician and used ABA to start teaching Saul to play the drums.
Our family listens to all sorts of music and we like to go to gigs, concerts and musicals with Saul. Saul loves all music, from nursery rhymes and opera to rock, pop and folk. He’s crazy about Bruce Springsteen and the songs Twinkle Twinkle and Smells like Teen Spirit by Nirvana are particular favourites.
Saul now plays the drums in The AutistiX, a band with two other young men with autism Jack Beavan Duggan on electric guitar and Luke Steels on bass. The other members are Jim Connelly, lead vocalist and music mentor, Jack’s father John, who plays electric guitar, and Saul’s father Michael occasionally plays harmonica. Saul met Jim at The Camden Society in 2010 and that’s where the band first began. Saul, Jack and Luke named the band The AutistiX and want to be successful musicians while also being upfront about having autism. The name signifies their identity as people with autism, which makes them special, unique and talented, while also coping with the challenges of their diagnosis.
The AutistiX tour Spain
The AutistiX did a five gig tour in Spain between 24 – 20 May with another band called Motxila 21, which includes musicians with Down’s syndrome. It’s amazing how it happened. We were on holiday in the Basque country last year and our hotel owner told us about Motxila 21 after he saw Saul watching videos of himself playing drums with The AutistiX. He said they should come and play with Motxila 21. Motxila 21 applied for a European grant for The AutistiX to go to the Basque country, accompanied by parents and carers.
The tour was amazingly successful, especially as all 15 of us hadn’t met Motxila 21 beforehand. The overall group coped well with the challenges of performing daily in three towns and cities. It was non-stop because we were travelling between towns, staying in different hotels, setting up for the gigs, sound checking, performing and then packing up again and moving on to the next gig.
The musicians also had to cope with the challenges of having autism, learning to make quick transitions, being in new places, eating different foods, spending all their time together and with unfamiliar people. The AutistiX were great ambassadors as musicians with disabilities and performing in front of crowds of over 200 people with little experience of autism.
Three regional Spanish papers interviewed The AutistiX about the tour with Motxila 21 and they went on regional television. They even met the Mayor of Pamplona, and performed with El Drogas, a well known Spanish musician.
I’m so proud of Saul and his achievements. He’s so rewarding and lives life to the full despite his severe and complex needs; he’s taking us on an incredible, unimaginable journey. To go from rehearsing weekly in my dining room to touring in Spain is something I could never have envisaged for the band. The AutistiX give so much pleasure to others and they’re entertaining as well as showcasing the musical talent and potential of musicians with autism. We’re hoping to get a grant for Motxila 21 to come to London so they can perform with The AutistiX and promote the musical talent of people with disabilities and encourage their inclusion.
[via www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk]
Ham and High
Autistic band from Camden ready for Hampstead Summer Festival after Spanish tour
A Camden-based band of autistic teenagers will perform at the Hampstead Summer Festival this year fresh from their first international tour.
The three members of AutistiX had to overcome the challenges of an “intense” and “unrelenting” tour in Spain. They visited three cities with Spanish band Motxila 21, whose musicians all have Down’s Syndrome.
Luke Steels, 17, on electric guitar and bass, Jack Beavan-Duggan, 18, on electric guitar, and Saul Zur-Szpiro, 20, on drums are now gearing up for the Hampstead Summer Festival, which opens on Sunday, June 30 in Heath Street.
Band manager and Saul’s mother, Susan, who lives in Goldhurst Terrace, South Hampstead, said: “The schedule was intense and unrelenting but it was an unbelievable tour. The AutistiX and Motxilla 21 were so compatible as we had the same mission to get people with disabilities to be active.”
The band were joined on tour by ex-band member, Andreas Lopez-Muro, 17, Saul’s father Michael on harmonica and guitar, Jack’s father John on bass and Jim Connely, lead vocalist and carer.
Motxila 21 will return the visit by touring with the AutistiX sometime in August in the UK.
The band, who formed in 2010, will be releasing their debut album, Butterflies and Demons, sometime next month.
[via - www.hamhigh.co.uk]
A Camden-based band of autistic teenagers will perform at the Hampstead Summer Festival this year fresh from their first international tour.
The three members of AutistiX had to overcome the challenges of an “intense” and “unrelenting” tour in Spain. They visited three cities with Spanish band Motxila 21, whose musicians all have Down’s Syndrome.
Luke Steels, 17, on electric guitar and bass, Jack Beavan-Duggan, 18, on electric guitar, and Saul Zur-Szpiro, 20, on drums are now gearing up for the Hampstead Summer Festival, which opens on Sunday, June 30 in Heath Street.
Band manager and Saul’s mother, Susan, who lives in Goldhurst Terrace, South Hampstead, said: “The schedule was intense and unrelenting but it was an unbelievable tour. The AutistiX and Motxilla 21 were so compatible as we had the same mission to get people with disabilities to be active.”
The band were joined on tour by ex-band member, Andreas Lopez-Muro, 17, Saul’s father Michael on harmonica and guitar, Jack’s father John on bass and Jim Connely, lead vocalist and carer.
Motxila 21 will return the visit by touring with the AutistiX sometime in August in the UK.
The band, who formed in 2010, will be releasing their debut album, Butterflies and Demons, sometime next month.
[via - www.hamhigh.co.uk]
