Best Friends Make Up Local Band Known As Lance Battalion
Great bands have formed in a variety of ways over history.
For example, The Monkees were brought together for the sake of a TV show, little knowing the quartet would go on to legendary status.
In 2018 four freshmen at Mansfield High School got together and formed their own band to perform in the school’s talent show. They named themselves after their teacher, Lance Davis, who helped bring them together.
They won the talent show. Now, LanceBattalion is winning over the hearts of listeners as they attempt to rival the success of others before them, such as The Eagles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and more.
Dawson Washington – drums, Spiderman.
Brock Horton – a lead guitarist born in the wrong era.
Walker Pierce – bass, Redneck.
Michael Ajeman – a lead vocalist who also plays rhythm guitar and the piano.
The band’s style is mixture of southern rock, blues, rock, grunge, with a little bit of country tossed in. Their influences include the likes of Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith, Stevie Ray Vaughn and the Steve Miller Band.
Playing Bigger Stages
“Being so diversified with four or five genres of music is not what anyone would consider normal in the music industry, especially from 17-year-olds ,” David Washington said. “These boys are continuing to get better and southern rock , grunge, blues and country songs makes them very unique. Their setlists make it a show to enjoy for all music lovers.”
Among their success, the band recently played Arlington’s Levitt Pavillion. That’s the same stage greats such as Kenny Loggins and Kansas have played in recent years.
“Latakia Teykl (event coordinator) was eating at El Primos, where the boys play once a month, and she was immediately wowed and asked if they would be interested – and of course they all agreed,” said David Washington, Dawson’s father and manager of the band.
The quartet, who have known each other since the sixth grade, were unanimous in honoring their teacher.
“We were struggling to come up with a name, and Dawson brought our thoughts back to the beginning, where it all started,” said Ajeman.
“Also they all think he’s a great teacher,” David Washington added.
As exciting as it is to chase success, they also agree that doing so together as best friends makes it even more thrilling.
“It’s great to share the stage with friends,” Dawson Washington said.
“We feed off each other,” Horton added.
Pierce said, “Right before and during shows we transcend our friendship with our closeness within our music.”
And Ajeman chimed in, “I have always been doing music on my own , so having three other guys enjoying the same moment and the same crowd is a whole other kind of energy. There’s nothing like it.”
As they move forward, their goals include:
- Dawson Washington would like for the band to reach 10,000 followers on social media in the next couple of years.
- Pierce wants to see the band headline more shows and make an album.
- Ajeman, similarly, wants to see the band put out an album and gain followers to travel with them to gigs.
- Horton simply said he wants himself and his friends “to be rock stars.”
David Washington said the band is working on a a couple of original songs and hopes to have enough originals in the next three to six months to produce their first album of six to eight songs.
And, just in case anyone is wondering, yes, this is a long-term commitment, David Washington emphasizes.
“They all want to be famous so yes,” he said.
