South Africa's youngest rock band signs a record deal

Jacaranda FM’s youth band, the 942s, have signed a record deal with Coleske Artists and their first single ‘We Are the Voice’ was released this morning on their mentor, Martin Bester’s radio breakfast show. The 942s will be in legendary music company with the likes of Fokofpolisiekar, Die Heuwels Fantasties, and Corlea Botha who are also signed to Coleske Artists.

“I noticed a lot of passionate, young performers and singers over the past few years whilst hosting our previous My School Rocks competitions, and I knew that I could mentor some of the ridiculously good talent. I feel responsible for opening industry channels and leveraging established networks to cultivate new music. Once Covid-19 restrictions kicked-in, My School Rocks morphed into My Kid Rocks so that we could continue the talent scout,” comments Jacaranda FM presenter Martin Bester.

The aim of the competition was to find the best young music talent in South Africa, to create a band, and help these young hopefuls navigate an industry that needs more successful youth representation.

“We have put a world-class group together and can’t wait to see them represent South Africa on the world stage,” adds Bester.

After 10 weeks of on-air talent search, three talented young musicians were selected for the band. They are Ruan Nel (13) from Midrand on electric guitar, Angelo Roman (13) from Pretoria on bass guitar and Dominic McNabb (13) from Pretoria on drums.

The vocalist for the group was selected after a final round where three contestants had to sing live on air. After 30,000 visits to the web page and more than 10 000 votes, it was the talented Lisa Taylor (15) from Krugersdorp who earned the seat behind the microphone.

Martin Bester and Jacaranda FM will continue to support and mentor the 942s, keep up with their journey here.

About the band

Vocalist - Lisa Taylor

Lisa attends Helpmekaar Kollege and is a typical 15-year-old girl who loves hockey. She attributes her raspy voice to the nodules she had in her throat as a child, before which she never considered music or singing.

When asked what winning the vocal leg of the competition meant to her, she said “Being part of a band is a dream come true for me, but being in a band where we are all similar in age means we don’t have the pressure of impressing adult band members. Martin has already taught us how to think under pressure, and just knowing he is with us every step of the way is beyond anything I ever dreamed of”.

Lisa’s musical influences are; Sasha Sloan, Jeremy Zucker, and Ed Sheeran

Drummer - Dominic McNabb

Dominic is no stranger to the limelight, with over 4000 Instagram followers and sponsorship by Yamaha, this quiet and polite 13-year-old from Pretoria dominates the drums in a way that makes him hard not to watch.

Dominic is home-schooled and loves that he gets to spend more time with his family than other kids his age. He loves learning about computers and was two years old when he first started banging on pots and pans; a love for percussion he picked up from his dad who played at church. Once his dad recognised his talent, he gave Dominic drumming videos to watch – and the rest is history.

Dominic’s musical influences are Eric Moore and Early B. He hopes to tour the world and share his music in the ‘My Kid Rocks’ band.

Guitar - Ruan Nel

Ruan is a 13-year-old, home-schooled teen who started playing guitar when he was seven years old. He loves anime’ and is constantly asked about his accent – which he picked up from spending two weeks in Los Angeles once.

“Being in a band with people your age means we can talk about Netflix, share pop culture, and relate to each other. Being in this band is a dream come true and I’m looking forward to learning from Martin and guitarist Werner Bosman,” said Ruan Nel.

Ruan’s musical influences are Eddie Van Halen, Randy Rhodes, and Bernth.

Bass Guitar - Angelo Roman

Angelo is a 13-year-old teen from Pretoria. He goes to Hoër Skool Waterkloof and plays bass, synth bass, guitar, drums, and sings.

Angelo brings a professional standard to the young band as he has played with the likes of Bobby van Jaarsveld and Joseph Clark in the ‘Queen Experience’ last year.

Angelo is inspired by musicians like; Bobby Lewis, MonoNeon, Thundercat and Freddie Mercury. He aspires to be a great YouTuber like Joovier or influence people like Janek Qwizdala influenced him.