TGL puts school on hold for chance at rock stardom

TGL

Greencastle's own aspiring rock stars decided to go big rather than go home.

After more than two months of carefully weighing their options, the members of the TGL have decided to put their schooling on hold and signed a contract with Lobster.

Now, with school out for all four of them, lead singer John Sibbitt, guitarist Quinn Fenlon, bassist Zach Stewart and drummer Will Cath will be back in town and back together next week for the first time since they parted ways in August after a summer of intense touring.

With a record due out at the end of May 2008 and a booking agent to help them hit the touring circuit with a vengeance, the Greencastle High School graduates are betting that they make the big time.

"I'd lie if I said I wasn't nervous, but I'm pretty confident, as well," Cath told the BannerGraphic.

Cath is a junior at DePauw University, Sibbitt a senior at DePauw, and Fenlon a sophomore at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

Stewart, is graduating from Capri College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and for him the decision to go on tour was simple. But for the others, it was a tough call -- one that they had to make long-distance.

Sibbitt was studying in Ireland all semester, making the logistics of talking about the choice even more difficult.

The decision to quit school shoulders the guys with a lot of responsibility. They're now fulltime musicians and no longer have the distractions of school -- it's do or die, Stewart said.

But the members intentionally signed a one-record contract, meaning that their commitment is technically fulfilled after their first album drops. This means that if the touring gig doesn't work out, they aren't stuck.

"We're definitely in deeper than we've ever been in, but we're not in over our heads so that we're going to be in trouble for the rest of our lives," Stewart said.

But they're hoping that this time off could springboard them into a long and successful music career.

"We're giving this the chance that school will be indefinitely on hold," Cath said.