The Teenage Rock Star
Growing up, Jake Cimbalista didn’t live a normal childhood, far from it. Most kids dream of becoming a rock star, Cimbalista was one. When Cimbalista was 13 years old, he was in a rock band with his older brothers called JC Satellite. Cimbalista was the face of the band as he played lead guitar and sang lead vocals.
The group still has more than a dozen videos on YouTube, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account.
It all started when Cimbalista was about seven years old when he and his older brother bought a guitar together. That same Christmas, Cimbalista’s other brother bought a set of drums and before they knew it, they had the makings of a rock band. As a kid, Cimbalista’s father had a bunch of old records lying around of artists like Led Zeppelin, ACDC, and Bruce Springsteen. So, when he finally picked up a guitar, Cimbalista fell in love with the music and it seemed like a natural fit.
From there, he and his brothers began writing songs and practicing every day in hopes of touring as a family band. That day eventually came as JC Satellite began to perform at concerts and venues in places from Philadelphia to New York, mostly playing hard rock from the 70’s and 80’s. Then, in 2009, to make the band official, Cimbalista and his brothers recorded a full-length album of original material and toured.
Eventually the band was forced to break up when one of Cimbalista’s older brothers left for college. The brothers came together and performed one last big show as a goodbye tour for their hometown, New Hope, PA.
Now a student studying computer science at Penn State, Cimbalista’s days as a rockstar seem to be a thing of the past. When given the time, however, the senior tries his best to still write songs and play his guitar as it brings him back to when he was a kid.
Looking back on his experience as a teenage rock star, Cimbalista said he wouldn’t change a thing. He said that being part of the band created a bond with his brothers that they will share for a lifetime.
VIDEO: The Power of Music
After starting to play live shows, Cimbalista realized the power of music. After touring and seeing the popularity the band was generating, JC Satellite decided to use their platform to impact their community.
So Cimbalista and the band decided to perform a charity concert for one of their friends in high school who was diagnosed with leukemia. The concert brought the whole town together and generated over $6,000 for leukemia research.
