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Rock and Roll student rolling through school, tour
Musician Tyler Lyons says PA Cyber allows him go to finish school while touring with his band, Kelsey and the Chaos.
The life of a budding rock star is a hectic one. Just ask 17-year old Tyler Lyons. The teenage musician from East Stroudsburg, Pa., just finished a month-long tour with his new band Kelsey and the Chaos — during which they traveled by bus up and down the East Coast and across the Midwest and slept in a different hotel every night. Oh, and did I mention he’s still in high school?
As a senior at the Pennsylvania Cyber Charter School, Lyons is able to go to school and pursue his music career at the same time. “I elected to go to PA Cyber because I just didn’t have the time to get out of [my old] school for the big long tours…I was just way too busy. Because of PA Cyber, I have the ability to do all these things I want to do and still keep up with schoolwork.”
Lyons enrolled in PA Cyber for the 2009-10 school year after the NYC-based Kelsey and the Chaos asked him to fill-in on guitar for their fall tour. “After that first show, the chemistry just clicked,” he said. It’s been all-systems-go ever since.
Lyons said school is the easiest part of his schedule simply because the self-paced classes he’s enrolled in allow him to learn anytime, anywhere and at his pace. “Because of all the complications, like traveling and being away from home, being able to do school on the computer is perfect for me. I can spend the time on the road studying and taking tests on the bus or in the hotel. And after only a month, I’m already ahead in my classes.”
Lyons stresses that convenient and easy are not synonymous. “I’m almost done with my third class, but I’ve been working really hard on it. I do lessons at night and study on the bus, so it is something I work at, just on my own schedule.”
As Lyons continues to excel at school, his music career is taking off. Now a full-time member of Kelsey and the Chaos, he and his band mates are getting ready to release two new songs on iTunes in time for the holidays and are shopping around for a new record label.
“I’ve pretty much had my life based around music from the start. I’ve always known what I wanted to do this and PA Cyber’s allowing me to do it.”
Upcoming Shows
Kelsey and the Chaos have several Pa. performances coming up this fall, so go check out a fellow classmate if you can.
Oct. 10
Eleanor Rigby’s
Jermyn, Pa.
12:00 P.M.
Nov. 13
Crocodile Rock
Allentown, Pa.
6:30 P.M.
Nov. 14
The Trocodero
Philadelphia, Pa.
6:30 P.M.
Online:
www.myspace.com/kelseyandthechaos