EXTRAORDINARY PEOPLE: Seth Blake—Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself…

Local rock band, Wage War, produces music that’s a weapon in the fight to stay above negativity. Seth Blake, the guitarist from Lady Lake, is quickly becoming a hometown hero. His bandmates are Leesburg singer Briton Bond; guitarist and singer, Cody Quistad, from Ocala; bassist Chris Gaylord from Palm Beach Gardens; and drummer Stephen Kluesener from Apopka. Together, they are making a positive name for this area.

Like so many musicians, Seth’s first outlet was church. He played the bass in youth ministry, but an incident altered his path—someone stole the bass. An event Seth is now grateful for, because it led him to a new instrument.

“I was given the choice to get another bass or move to electric guitar.” He took lessons on the electric guitar and soon found himself amid the local rock scene.

“[Wage War] played shows for five years before anything came of it,” Seth said.

That was until national recording artists, A Day to Remember, from Ocala, came to see a show. This was the start of the band’s success. “It’s a very clear origin. Josh and Jeremy from A Day to Remember came to a show and liked what they heard.”

Then came the setbacks—a drummer quit and legal trouble concerning band names. Seth and the band considered walking away, but continued with the thought of divine intervention. “I still get chills thinking about it, on May 1 we got a record deal offer, the exact day we said we were done if nothing happened.”

The band now has a lot to celebrate with the recent release of their debut album, “Blueprints,” from Fearless Records, which produces big names like Pierce the Veil and the Plain White Tees and an international tour with Seth’s idol, August Burns Red.

“The reaction I’ve heard of from people I’m not even friends with [is] they think it’s cool to see someone from our hometown actually do something.”

PHOTO: Fred Lopez