Perhaps the most striking thing about the band Fullproof is the members' ages. Lead singer and guitarist Jeff Scheuring is 19, and his brother Grant, who also plays guitar, is 17; drummer Donnie Morris and bassist Tyler Benson are in their late teens.
The thing is, they don't sound like kids. "Far Away From Now" is a promising debut from a bunch of guys too young to know their limitations.
"At first, when people see we're so young, they don't want to give us a chance," says Jeff Scheuring of Peters Township about the group's inability to get bar gigs. "There's all kinds of things they say about liabilities. But we just keep pressing them to give us a chance."
The band has played at several venues in the South Hills area, but gets to play at noon today in Market Square for a lunchtime performance.
Foolproof's current lineup has evolved from several other bands, including Irritating the Stick, a ska band. But late last year, when Scheuring was searching for a fourth member to round out the current lineup, Morris and Benson told him the missing puzzle piece was right under his nose.
"Tyler asked me why I was searching for all these guitarists when I had a good guitarist who lives with me," Scheuring says, noting that he also tried to form a band while he was attending Ohio State University last year. "I just never thought of it. I guess before I had always thought Grant was too young, but now that's not such a big deal."
It didn't take long for Scheuring to realize the band was what he had been trying to put together at Ohio State.
"It was surprising in a way, because I hadn't heard Grant in a long time and I was surprised at how much better he was playing," he says. "But the first time we got together, it just clicked."
The group's sound takes a cue from guitar rock bands — Incubus and Stone Temple Pilots come to mind as influences — but there's also a charming innocence to the music. Songs such as "Euphoria" and "Everlasting" indicate that youthful optimism can be used to good measure.
Although the group has managed to get gigs this summer, soon its performance schedule will be limited to weekends. Benson will be studying jazz at Miami University in Ohio, and Scheuring has transferred to Washington & Jefferson College to pursue a degree in biology. A couple of replacement bassists have been recruited to fill in for Benson when he can't make it home, but Scheuring says there's no way he's going to let this band fall apart.
"There's such a natural chemistry between everybody in the band," he says. " We've all been friends for so long, I just think we're naturally suited to play with each other."
The Fullproof show in Market Square is free.
