Many parents have made the mistake of providing their fifth grade children with access to drums, guitars and amplifiers, but for a lucky few, the suffering pays off.

Sophomore Cooper Gatzmer has been playing the bass guitar in a band since the fifth grade. Gatzmer, along with singer/guitar player Annie Dubner, a student at DeLaSalle, and drummer Sam Stroup from South High School, make up the band “Call us Criminals” who have been playing together since 2009.

“We like to play mellow-er indie or indie/alt rock,” Gatzmer said. “Bands that influence us are groups like Pavement, The Shins, and Arcade Fire.”

Gatzmer has always been drawn to music. Before joining the band, he played piano for five years and then began taking bass lessons at Twin Town Guitars.

“I think what I love about music is how forgiving it is,” Gatzer said. “There’s no losing. When I would play a sport everyone would get super bummed when they lost, but music isn’t like that. There is no failure when you don’t do something right, usually it’s welcomed. That’s what I love about it.”

The group practices weekly in Stroup’s attic, and they play gigs at coffee shops and small venues around the Twin Cities such as Ginkgo’s, The Beat House, The Depot, and The Garage.

Call Us Criminals’ music is available for purchase online at Bandcamp and they can be found on Soundcloud. They also sell albums and T-shirts at their shows.