Lucas Rehl had been in bands before. They rarely lasted.
"The kids would work hard to learn a handful of songs, perform at a couple of events, and then the band would dissolve," his parents, Mike and Mel Rehl, wrote in answer to questions about how their son ended up here. "Lucas was left wanting more."
On Sept. 13, the band that did last won.
Airbourne Tex, with the 14-year-old from Prosper on drums, took first place in the youth division of North Texas Got Talent, the annual competition run by North Texas Performing Arts. Gregory McKnight, the organization's studios managing director, confirmed the result by email: 10 acts reached the youth finals out of 48 youth auditions, from 72 auditions in all. Alexia Orta finished second and Reagan Hammond third.
The band is three teenagers from three towns. Lucas plays drums. Jaxton Weatherly, 13, of Frisco plays bass and sings. Maryanne Hilton, 13, of Plano sings and plays guitar. At the finals, held at The Winston School in Dallas, they played a shortened version of "Sweet Child O' Mine."
"The quiet verses build into an explosive chorus, which gives us so much to work with as a band," Lucas said of the song. "The moment our name was called, I knew this was only going to get better."
His parents remember the drive home. "He kept saying, 'I can't believe we won. That was so awesome.'"
McKnight said the band "had a strong stage presence and seemed to have a great support system behind them." What stayed with him, he said, was the green room: "Contestants were cheering one another on and even exchanging contact information after the show."
It started with one song at Gruene Hall
None of this was planned. Lucas's mother was visiting a friend in Austin last summer and went to Gruene Hall, the dance hall that calls itself the oldest still operating in Texas. A girl from North Texas got up and sang with the band.
"She was amazing," his parents wrote. "After her performance, I introduced myself to her parents and discovered that they lived just south of us in Plano."
That was Maryanne. The Rehls and the Hiltons met for dinner in Frisco, which brought two of the three musicians together.
They still needed a bass player. Maryanne thought of Jaxton, who was a drummer, not a bassist, but who plays several instruments.
The families met for dinner again, this time with the Weatherlys, and the parents did something deliberate: they put the kids at their own table. They were 12, 12 and 13.
"Before long, they were talking about their shared passion for music, in their own very kid-like way," the Rehls wrote. "That simple dinner became the beginning of Airbourne Tex."
After that dinner, Jaxton committed to learning bass. The band started playing together early this year.
Four stripes on the shoulder
The name arrived after several that did not fit. Lucas wants to be a pilot and Maryanne's family flies its own plane, so Airborne Tex, spelled the usual way, felt right. That name was taken, so the band became Airbourne Tex.
Lucas wears a white shirt on stage with four stripes on the shoulder, which in aviation marks a captain. Mike Rehl describes the group as a three-person flight crew: Lucas sets the pace and tempo, Jaxton locks in with him to build the rhythm, and Maryanne carries the story and the melody.
