For most it’s only a dream to release an exclusive preview (EP) at the age of 17. For junior Brandon “Bob” Boaz, this dream became a reality as of Jan. 4.

Boaz’s band, Burn Out Brighter, released its very first EP a year and one day after the band was formed, following the anniversary concert held locally at North Orange Baptist Church.

“The EP contains four songs that we put together closer to when we started the band,” Boaz said. “We spent a lot of time recording and re-recording. We recorded it with Alex Borel, who also mixed it as well. We had friends (and the LCM drum line) come in and record crowd vocals on Cosmonauts. Micah Spell and Alex recorded some harmonies for it.”

The band is not new to performing – the guys have played all around Southeast Texas and even performed as special guests in the school talent show held in November.

“I actually don’t know the number of shows we’ve played,” Boaz said. “We’ve played at places like The Gig, The Center Stage, Dans Electro’s, The Warehouse, Walter’s Downtown, The Acadia, NOBC, Texas Rose Saloon, and at our high school.”

Boaz has been involved in music for as long as he can remember and sees it as an escape from the everyday challenges of life.

“When I was in the 5th grade, I finally started learning guitar and I’ve been slowly but surely getting it down,” Boaz said. “Playing music is the only thing that makes sense in my mind. It really just takes away the stress of worrying about everything.”

Boaz said he plans to make a career out of Burn Out Brighter and that the band has improved over time since he and the guys have become better friends and better musicians.

“We still strive to continue growing,” Boaz said. “Our music deals with a lot of personal topics that we’ve all dealt with, and still deal with. I believe that’s really shown in our music. Hopefully it will pay my bills in the future, but if it doesn’t work out it’ll give me something great to look back on and really fun stories to tell and music to show.”