By Sean Sullivan 

At a young age, Jake Wakstein’s obsession with music began like many have: He saw a movie.

That film was “School of Rock,” the Jack Black cult classic that must have likewise inspired millions to pick up and pluck at a guitar or other instrument. Wakstein was 7 years old when he first saw the movie, and the Natick resident said he watched it on repeat countless times.

“I totally fell in love with it.”

By “it,” he may be speaking as much about a life rooted in music as about any movie. Wakstein had been influenced by his parents’ proclivities up to that point, the songs they’d played and listened to on the radio during his early childhood.

His mother, Anya Robinson, favored more pop-inflected songs, and Dave Wakstein, his father, bent more towards rock. Bands like Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith and Motley Crüe fell under this latter catalogue, music that seems to have made its mark on the young artist.

“That was all my dad’s doing,” said Wakstein.

Still, pursuing music as a career would require much more than those hours watching Jack Black on screen. It would mean many thousands of hours of practice and playing, and learning about the business and politics of being in a band.

Focus was the order of the day during those early years, when Wakstein was told he must choose and commit to an instrument. He decided on drums, and began taking lessons at Natick’s “Music Go-Round,” the town’s longtime destination for local musicians.

There he was taught the fundamentals, how to hold sticks and read music. Wakstein then learned to mimic the drums of hits from bands like AC/DC and Steely Dan. In sixth grade, he started and played in the “Wilson Jazz Band,” which took its name from the town’s middle school he attended.

“It was really just to teach you how to be in a band,” said Wakstein.

During middle school, he would play as part of an ensemble at Wilson MS sporting events, covering anthems that might be mainstays at Fenway Park or Yankee Stadium. “It was fun,” said Wakstein, “but I really wanted to play rock and roll.”

He would later attend “School of Rock,” a one-week summer camp experience that took its name from the film that had supercharged Wakstein’s journey. 

The camp was an intensive, crash course that sought to mimic a life rooted in music, playing in a band. The grand finale is a performance before and audience of parents. “I loved it. It was a great experience.”

So much so, added Wakstein, that he would join “School of Rock” in the organization’s longer-term programming. That meant weekly practice sessions, culminating in a performance at The Center for the Arts Natick (TCAN), the town’s most popular and visible venue.

During the shutdowns of 2020, Wakstein did as many others had: He used the sudden surplus of free time and seclusion to pick up a new pastime. But whereas most people began dipping toes into new hobbies, Wakstein took the opportunity to dive deeper into a craft he’d already been cultivating for years.

That meant picking up and adding the guitar to his skill set.

“I was playing all the rock and roll stuff that I love,” said Wakstein.

He joined the house band scene for the latter half of high school, an experience Wakstein said was a step up from the practices and venues of the past. 

Auditions are required for admittance, as were regular local performances. “It was a really big step for me. It was a great learning experience.”

His house band tenure also brought lessons in leadership, as Wakstein took a central role in the group and began mentoring and teaching younger musicians.

Now in his senior year at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, Wakstein has experienced the trials and triumphs of a life in which music isn’t merely playing in the background—it’s a life built upon it.

The band he helped found in his early Berklee career fell apart on the eve of its first gigs in Boston and New York City venues, a fate that also met Wakstein’s subsequent band. No matter, he moved on to the next.

He’s currently part of a new group, one that seems to be gelling well. “Love Scar” is its name, a band whose goal is to move beyond cover songs and produce an EP (extended play) album of original music.

During these college years, Wakstein has played in other, more established bands in the local music scene, and declined an offer to join one of them full-time. He sees a future for “Love Scar,” and wants to devote his energies to making the band a success.

The group is currently working on filming a music video, and refining its song catalog. It’s yet another step in the marathon of a making music and a life, melding the two together.

“We’re still very primitive,” he said. “We’ll really hit the ground running when we release our new EP.”