SAM: Hey everybody. Welcome to Voices del Valle, the podcast series that brings the youth to you from the Imperial Valley.SAME: We’re your hosts, Sam Denman—ETHAN: —and I'm Ethan Gonzales. And let's be real. High school can be a lot. For some of us, the best part of the day is when we get to make some noise. But in a good way.
ETHAN: Whether you're marching on the field, shredding a solo, laying down a sick beat, or making it all sound amazing, high school music classes are where it's at. And we're talking everything from the traditions of the great Spartan Band, the cool vibes of Spartan guitar classes, the raw energy of Rock Combo, or the songwriting magic of Spartan Sound Productions. Music classes aren’t just about learning notes or technical skills. They're about finding your people, building confidence, and having a creative escape from the daily grind. Stick with us as we explore the passion, the practice, and the performance that make our music programs more than just another class. This is Spartan Music Makers, and we're just getting started.
SAM: Most episodes of Voices del Valle are about things we go through or issues that affect us. But this one is about the music we make and celebrate at school.
ETHAN: That's right. A teenager’s typical day is focused on school, and music helps us deal with it. It also gives us joy, a form of expression, and a way to connect with each other—and with our communities.
SAM: In this episode, we're going to hear from the students who are part of the music programs offered at Central Union High School in El Centro, California. We’re talking about Central because its music program is well-supported and has a history of excellence. Also, beyond the typical band and maybe guitar classes, Central has a rock band class and audio production classes that not many high schools offer just yet. We have a lot to say. So let’s get started.
ETHAN: The band at Central Union High is known as the Great Spartan Band because of its 60 years of award-winning excellence. Thousands of students have been band members since the 1960s, and the traditions continue today. Students join the band for different reasons, but the band's traditions often play a role in their decision to join.
STUDENT 1: Well, it started when I was little. I was introduced to it in fourth grade. My uncle was in the band too. Well, all my family went to Central, so honestly, there’s a little tradition within my family as well. So, I felt like I kind of had to in a way. But honestly, I'm glad I did. It turned out well, and it's like a little family you make.
STUDENT 2: Yeah, same. When I was little—like four or six years old—I’d come to the games. And my mom would say, “Stay for halftime. Don’t go to the snack bar—stay for halftime. Watch the halftime show.” And I fell in love with it. I would see them shuffle and I always wanted to do that. So, in fourth grade, beginning band came around, and of course, I took the opportunity and did it—all the way up until now.
ETHAN: Along with traditions, lifelong memories are made in the band program.
STUDENT 2: What I'm gonna remember the most is football season. Friday Night Lights is one of the best feelings. Like halftime shows—you get on the field, you have this tingly kind of energy that you just feel with everybody cheering for you.
STUDENT 1: What I'm gonna remember most is definitely the experience I've had with my bandmates. They made a difference. They’re some of my best friends ever, and we just have a lot of fun together—learning new music, making each other better. Making each other better is a big one. I feel myself getting better musically when I'm with my band.
ETHAN: Playing a band instrument is usually associated with learning in school, but most of the time, learning how to play guitar is often self-taught or through private lessons, right? But we’re fortunate to have a thriving guitar program. And like the Great Spartan Band, Spartan Guitar has a proven track record of award-winning recognition at regional festivals. We asked current guitar students about their choices to take a guitar class.
GUITAR STUDENT 1: I chose guitar personally because I wanted to get back into it. I played it when I was younger, and I kind of just forgot about it and never touched it again. I just wanted to come back into it and learn how to play at least the basics again. That’s the main reason I’m in guitar.
GUITAR STUDENT 2: That’s probably the reason for me too. I picked it up when I was younger just ‘cause I loved watching people play on TV. And also, I learned off YouTube videos—like, the basics and my favorite songs—but I never was in a class. So, I thought, me and my dad thought it would be cool if I actually did the class to really see what guitar is all about.
SAM: And like any class where students are allowed to be creative, the value of the experience goes beyond just playing notes.
GUITAR STUDENT 2: I like the uniqueness of having guitar classes, honestly. Being able to learn an instrument that’s so widely used—like guitar, it’s one of the most popular instruments out there, I believe. And it's also cool that we’re learning music and even music theory. I’ve considered it a language, so it’s pretty cool to understand all this stuff.
GUITAR STUDENT 1: And when you’re hearing your favorite song, you kind of know what they’re playing or what else they’re using—just off the tone of the guitar maybe.
GUITAR STUDENT 2: It’s kind of like coming home and showing my dad what I learned. Me and him bond a lot over music—acoustic music. He's a fan of acoustic country music. So whenever he's playing something in the car, he'll ask me, “Oh, do you know what they’re doing here?” And I do. It’s created more of a bonding between me and my dad—and also just playing music, which is awesome.
GUITAR STUDENT 2: Classes like this are needed in a sense. Yes, you need math, you need English, you need science—because these are the subjects we use in everyday life. But you also need art. In order to live, we need art. We need music. Because it’s what brings us joy. And having it during the day is amazing. If I'm stressed out with my other classes, I get to guitar, and it’s just like—I get to play. I like to go around and do something that I enjoy.
ETHAN: Marching bands, guitar classes, choirs, and jazz ensembles are all regular offerings in high school. But more recently, the inclusion of modern band or popular music-based programs are finding their way into class schedules. For us, though, a student-focused rock band has been included in our schedules since the early 1970s. And since the COVID years, the Spartan Combo is even stronger—earning national recognition at conferences and regularly releasing their own Tiny Desk performances on their YouTube channel.
SAM: That’s right. Spartan Combo is part of the daily class schedule, but its social media presence and song choices are mainly driven by the students. So, I sat down and talked about Rock Combo with one of its singers.
SAM: So back to you, Isabella. How do you put the setlist together? I know that you are pretty much very involved in it with Mr. Rubio, the teacher of Combo. So how do you help him put the songs together? How do you know what songs to pick?
ISABELLA: I honestly pick songs based on what I like. We all kind of choose what we like and what we think we sound best on. But I also keep our audience in mind—you know, like the students that are listening and what’s trending at the moment, even if it's not something new. I feel like a lot of old songs are really popular right now. Also, the staff—like the teachers and everyone in the area—are all listening to us when we’re out there. And I think it's really important that we keep their interests in mind and play what they like. But yeah, that's more or less how I choose the songs that we play.
SAM: Do you think you're going to continue to be in Rock Combo and keep making the setlist?
ISABELLA: Oh, for sure. I think that it's something that's growing, and the songs that we choose are a really important part of us. So yeah, definitely.
SAM: Because the setlists this year have been amazing. We've had so many good songs, and we've done really well in Rock Combo.
ISABELLA: I agree. I’ve seen Rock Combo since I was a freshman, and I’ve seen some songs that weren’t the best, but this year I feel like we did really well.
SAM: Yeah.
ISABELLA: I think it's really important to have not only songs that we like, but also variety—songs from different genres. Even though we are Rock Combo, it's important to throw in a pop song here and there, or an alternative song. I think variety is important.
SAM: Yeah, definitely—have more variety because not everyone in the school likes the same thing. And I think we’ve had that this year.
ISABELLA: Yeah, we really have. And that's pretty much due to you.
SAM: Thank you!
SAM: So really, what was your favorite song to perform this year?
ISABELLA: Honestly, I have a lot of favorites based on the performances we've had. But I have to say, probably the Christmas ones we performed in the winter. That whole performance was so fun. It was so cool to do it at night. We never perform at night, and I thought it was really cool. We had the lights on, and it was kind of dark—we couldn’t really see much, but it felt like the lights were on us. It was just a really cool experience. But my favorite was probably “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” I really love that song. Being able to play it with my friends and sing it for my family and friends who were watching—it was just a cool experience. I really enjoyed that one.
SAM: Was that your favorite place to perform or your favorite performance?
ISABELLA: Yeah, 100%. That was my favorite. I also really enjoy performing at lunch, but yeah, that one had to be my favorite.
SAM: I feel like seeing Rock Combo in a live setting and just watching the Tiny Desk videos—they're so different.
ISABELLA: Oh, I agree. It's so much better live when we’re performing.
SAM: Yeah, I agree. Honestly, when the cameras are on, everybody gets really nervous. I know I do. I remember the first one that we recorded—that I recorded—was “Celebrity Skin,” and I forgot the lyrics like five times. I was so embarrassed. But we finally got it right.
ISABELLA: Yeah, I agree. When the cameras are on, everyone feels super different—so much more tense. But on stage, everyone's a bit more chill. Like, we got this.
ISABELLA (singing): I'm all I want to be / A walking fire / You can make me over...
ISABELLA: It’s also different because this is your first year, so you're not as used to it. I know that the people who have been in Rock Combo for years are probably used to the cameras. But I'm like, “Oh yeah,” and I know everyone’s time is valuable. Everyone's doing something when we're recording. You're always on the camera, and I’m like, “She has to drop the cameras and set them back up.” Rubio on the board has to start over again. And I’m like, “Damn, I’m the only one messing up here. Come on!”
SAM: I know. Exactly.
ISABELLA: So yeah, I definitely enjoy performing more than recording because it's just one shot. You get one chance.
SAM: Exactly.
ISABELLA: It’s the longest performance we've had. And yeah, it's going to be fun to revisit some of the songs we played at the beginning of the year. We haven’t touched them since, but we’re bringing them back for this performance. I'm really excited to play those again.
SAM: Yeah, because it's a two-hour performance. And we have songs like “Creep” by Radiohead that we played at the beginning of the year, and then we have new songs, like the Amy Winehouse song—
ISABELLA: “Valerie!”
SAM: Yeah! It'll be a mix of newer songs and older ones. It’s going to be really cool.
ISABELLA: I’m excited.
SAM: Me too. So when you're making the setlist, do you take into account the other students' abilities? Do you think it's within their range to perform the song?
ISABELLA: I honestly really try to. But if I'm being honest, I don't always know. I feel like I usually perform with the same group. I try to take into account people’s strengths and weaknesses when choosing songs, but ultimately, I leave that up to Mr. Rubio because he knows each student's abilities way more than I do. I do try to pick songs that are within our school’s skill range because—even if you choose a song that everybody loves—if it's too hard, it's really easy to mess it up. And especially when it's a more popular song, it’s harder to get it right. If it's something so well-known and you change it, it might disappoint people.
SAM: Yeah, I remember in the beginning of the year—and even last year—Mr. Rubio said, “You guys have to pick songs we know we can do.”
ISABELLA: I know, it's hard. Some songs are so fun and we really want to do them. But sometimes there's just that little part that's too far out of reach.
SAM: I wanted to hear people sing the Evanescence song “Bring Me to Life,” and Rubio just shut it down. He was like, “You guys cannot do that song.”
ISABELLA: Yeah, and it’s so easy to mess something like that up because it’s so popular. If it doesn’t sound good, it really disappoints people.
SAM: Right. Especially when people are expecting it to sound a certain way.
ISABELLA: Yeah. And then it’s so embarrassing to mess up in front of all your friends and family.
SAM: Of course. I mean, yeah, messing up is embarrassing, but it’s also part of it. It’s part of the growth. It’s part of performing.
ISABELLA: That’s a really good mentality to have.
SAM: I try. I try to remember that, especially when I'm on stage. Because when you're recording, you can always do it again. But when I’m on the stage, I’m like, “Okay, this is my chance. Just forget everything else and focus on performing.” If you mess up, you keep going.
ISABELLA: Exactly.
SAM: I'm really glad you're a sophomore right now. Because I remember last year a bunch of the seniors graduated, and Rock Combo got really small. But this year, I see a bunch of underclassmen like you, and I’m like, “Okay, Rock Combo is going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”
ISABELLA: Yeah. And I know I’m going to continue helping with the setlist, like I said. So Rock Combo is just going to keep growing.
SAM: Yeah. I agree. I even know people who’ve talked to me like, “Oh my gosh, I'm so excited to join next year.” I'm like, “Girl—period. Let’s go! Join!”
ISABELLA: It’s going to be good. It’s going to be good.
SAM: As a result of the earlier successes of Spartan Sound Productions, the class assignments from the audio production classes often spark students' interest in creating their own works. Some get published to various streaming platforms—and some, like our next guests, have had their music picked up by radio stations here in the Valley and even in Memphis, Tennessee. I really enjoyed talking with one of my classmates, the musical artist known as Days.
SAM: Hey, I'm here with Ariel, who is known as the artist Days, and his music collaborator, Matthew. How are things going, guys?
DAZE! (ARIEL): It’s been pretty hectic this morning, but I think things are going pretty good as far as the music.
SAM: So Ariel, you've made a lot of music over the last two years. What got you started? What got you into music?
DAYS: Well, what really got me into music was that I used to watch videos of artists in the studio. It just looked really fun to me, and I wanted to start making music. So two years ago, I downloaded BandLab and me and my friends made a song. It was pretty bad—but you know, the jump from that to now is pretty crazy. I think now I have some pretty high-quality music. So yeah, that’s really what got me started—just watching other people make music. That inspired me.
SAM: Like a specific video?
DAZE!: Yeah, a studio session with Lil Uzi Vert where he made—what's it called—“XO Tour Llif3.” I was just hearing the whole process of that, and it looked fun and interesting. So I just got straight into it because it really inspired me.
SAM: How about you, Matthew? What got you into all this?
MATTHEW: Well, honestly, my dad always listened to a lot of music, so I feel like music’s always been a thing for me growing up. But what really pushed me—what inspired me to actually do music—was Ariel. I feel like he pushed all of us to do music. And I liked it.
SAM: Wow. So is there anything you guys have been doing more recently? Any new songs?
DAZE!: Yeah, I’ve been making a lot of music more recently. It’s definitely a little different than most of my earlier stuff. Like, today I started picking up some beats with a lot of bass—more stuff that bumps. I usually make melodic stuff, but now I’m trying to venture off into different sub-genres.
SAM: That’s good—to experiment more. How about you, Matthew?
MATTHEW: Right now, I can’t really sing or rap or do anything because I don’t have headphones or anything. But I’ve just been making beats in Taki’s class or whenever I have time.
SAM: So was that what got you more advanced in producing music? Or were you already doing some before?
MATTHEW: Yeah. I feel like Taki’s class always had a lot of opportunities. At the beginning of the year, I paid a lot of attention to how he used loops and how he used Soundtrap and stuff. It’s just a very easy way to get started—instead of using other studio apps like FL Studio, which are way more advanced. So yeah, I feel like Taki’s class really got me into music too.
SAM: Matthew, I understand that you created the beat for this song and took it to Days. So talk to us about how that came together.
MATTHEW: Okay, well honestly, we were doing a project for Taki, and he suggested a bunch of loops to listen to. One of my friends next to me started playing one, and I was just like, “What’s the name of that loop? I want to use it.” I used it and just put a bunch of things together. I liked the guitar part and added a beat drop and stuff. Everything was just off the top of my head. I felt like Ariel would flow best on it.
DAZE!: Yeah, and for me, as far as the lyrics—I wasn’t really thinking of a specific topic. But as soon as I said “100 mil,” I just had to make the song about succeeding and getting money, I guess. I just wanted to make a “yeah, we up now” kind of song. That’s really it for the lyrics.
SAM: All right. So here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for. This is 100 Mil by Days and Matthew C.
[Music plays: “100 Mil”]
ETHAN: Another songwriting duo, Jay & Jay, was formed as a result of being in the electronic music class together. They shared how they got started and what the process was like for one of their recent releases.
JORGE: The next song we’re going to talk about is Real You,
JOHAN: which is pretty funny because there’s not exactly much story behind it—at least not behind the instrumental. Yeah, there’s not much story behind the song besides, “Oh, they added new loops. Let me check it out.” Then we were like, “Oh! This rock one slaps.” And it was a pretty sick instrumental.
JORGE: The lyrics are about showing the real you. The “real you” is basically about not being scared. I should be able to show myself to the public—show who I really am.
JOHAN: Yeah, and that’s why it’s like a concert. This song is supposed to represent a guy at a concert singing this. We should start naming our characters—we never have. It was just “the guy,” “the main guy,” “the friend,” “the friend of the friend,” “the girlfriend,” and “the girl who left the guy.”
JORGE: We’ll name the main guy Jamie. All right. Anyway, you want to introduce the song?
JOHAN: Yeah, sure. Here goes Real You.
[Music plays: “Real You”]
ETHAN: Wow. It’s really incredible that all of the great music we’ve heard in this episode is created and shared daily on our campus.
SAM: I know! And like I said, their energy, music, and performances make the school culture so inspirational for future generations.
ETHAN: It really does. Walking around campus and seeing the daily Rock Combo playing at lunches, going to guitar class every day, and stopping by the electronic music classes—it’s amazing to see what students here at Central can create. And I guess we’re at the end of this Voices del Valle episode.
SAM: I’m Sam.
ETHAN: And I’m Ethan.
BOTH: And we loved bringing you Spartan Music Makers.
