Sophomore Ellaiden Margrave’s invitation to the thrash metal band Fascist Peach Cobbler was, at first, a joke. She was their “harmonica player”—a cover to get her into concerts for free. But after the rest of the band discovered she could play guitar, she was in. For real.

“I’ve always loved metal,” Margrave said. “I’d say it’s the majority of what I listen to. Having the opportunity to play that kind of music, … I thought [it] would never come along.”

The band is composed of Austin High School sophomores Ronny Rosenberg and Liam Turner and freshman Finn Schauer. Margrave, the most recent addition and only McCallum member, joined in the summer of 2021. She was introduced to the others by a fellow Mac student, sophomore Nora Rentería.

“I’ve known Ronny for about 10 years now,” Rentería said. “We met in first grade. Finn and Liam are wildlings I met through Ronny. As I started getting to know Ellaiden better, I quickly realized that she and Ronny would make good friends. I soccer-mom herded them together because ‘You both like metal, right?’ seemed like a good start.”

Metal is one way to describe Fascist Peach Cobbler’s music. The band has another.

“It’s basically the feeling you get when you’re about to—well actually—you know when you’ve had too much provolone, and your gut is big, and you’re like, ‘Ah, shit!’” Schauer said. “We’re trying to look for aggression.”

The too-much-provolone sound proved to be a bit of an adjustment for Margrave, whose background is in classical guitar. Fascist Peach Cobbler is Margrave’s first time going metal. However, this new style of music has given Margrave more creative freedom.

“Being in a band has allowed me to really break out of that classical mindset and helped me start to realize that I can make my own music and write songs, which I find really beneficial in my life,” she said. As the only non-Austin High member, Margrave is an invaluable member of the band as she provides motivation and a fresh perspective.

“Ellaiden’s like a shining light,” sophomore Ronny Rosenberg said.

But more than that, Margrave holds the band together. Like glue. Like her rhythm guitar.

 

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“We weren’t that good before Ellaiden joined the band,” Rosenberg said. “I think she motivates us all to be better because we’re scared of her. We had this sort of jammy, improvisational quality before Ellaiden joined, and we’d f— around. She doesn’t want to do that, so we have to actually play our songs.”

In keeping with their current style, the group was born from chaos. Schauer’s entrance to the band exemplifies this.

“I schmoozed my way into the band,” Schauer said. “I met Ronny in animation class. I told him, ‘Hey, I’m really good at guitar.’” In reality, however, … “I was not good at guitar,” Schauer said.

“So the past two years now have been me learning how to play guitar in the band, and I’m pretty good now.”

Practice makes perfect, and for three out of four members of the band, they have all the time in the world to get there. Rosenberg, Schauer and Turner all agree that for them, it’s music or nothing.

“I’m gonna try to get as far as I can with a music career and, when I’m inevitably homeless, I’m going to enjoy being homeless,” Schauer said.

While Margrave loves the band and playing music, the end of high school will be the end of her time in Fascist Peach Cobbler.

“The majority of my bandmates want to pursue music. I don’t,” Margrave said, “I want to do something in paleoanthropology or neurobiology and go to college. I think that’s going to be the end for me.”

Without Margrave keeping them in line, the band’s future is uncertain.

“Ellaiden keeps us on track,” Rosenberg said, “As soon as Ellaiden quits, this band is going to shit.”

Turner’s willing to get creative. “It’s going to go to interpretive dancing,” Turner agreed. “No music, just silence on stage.”

“Anytime anybody says anything in the crowd, just, ‘Shh!’” Schauer added.

What started as a joke between friends has morphed into a meaningful mission: people who love music making it together. And, if college doesn’t work out for Margrave, at least there’s always the band.

“I like making music that I would want to listen to,” Margrave said. “It feels nice to create something that you know people enjoy and that you enjoy as well.”

Meet the band. Learn their cheese.

Photos by Meredith Grotevant.