Lancebattalion

The formation of a band by teenagers is a huge task, but a group from Mansfield High School has done just that. They had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they initially started, but they’ve learned a lot since then.
“It all began when our history teacher thought we should create a band for the Mansfield High School talent show our freshman year. For some reason, he believed we could combine our individual gifts to start a band, but we weren’t sure this would work. When we first started, there were only three of us. I was on the drums,”
Dawson Washington explained. “Brock Horton played guitar, and we recruited Walker Pierce to play the bass. One day, I gave Walker a bass during one of our practices while saying, ‘Here, play this.’”
Apparently, Walker knew the basic principles but lacked the ability to play skillfully. It was difficult at first, but he accomplished it after a while. They were all learning how to play as a group while forming a band at the same time. Eventually, Michael Ajemian joined as the lead singer. Michael added, “Walker dragged me into this. I grew up listening to all forms of music, from Michael Jackson to Bon Jovi and sang in the concert choir. I enjoyed being with the guys as we developed our skills. You really get to know someone working on music together. Now that the band was complete, we worked on the name.” Dawson proposed naming the band after their teacher, since he came up with the concept. Because their teacher’s name is Lance, the guys decided to name the band LanceBattalion. The first part of their name is dedicated to their incredible teacher, who believed they
had the potential in the first place. Even though he is no longer at Mansfield High, he left a lasting impression. Southern pride is represented by the second half of the name, battalion, which is defined as an organized group of people pursuing a shared goal or
sharing a substantial endeavor. This clearly describes this local band, yet they didn’t fully understand the task ahead.
LanceBattalion began working on tunes for their debut once they had a lead singer and a name. The members desired to play a song that they were familiar with, therefore, ‘Free Bird’ was chosen as the talent show tune. This song was included on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s
debut album in 1974. A number like that would allow everybody to shine. “Brock could do the guitar solo. The bass, drums and I planned to work together like magic, allowing us all to be featured. Every single member of the band played a huge role in making this flow. We took part in our first performance freshman year, and
something clicked for us. Playing music with others was a whole new thing. We fed off each other. It was a huge success. This experience uncovered confidence we weren’t aware we had. After the
talent show, we knew we wanted to keep going,” Michael admitted.
As they went on, the second part of their name became clear. LanceBattalion had to buy a sound system, schedule locations and create opportunities on their own. While learning from their
experiences, this group was becoming more organized as a band. However, to keep pushing forward, they needed assistance along the way. They are appreciative of their support system. Someone assisted LanceBattalion with creating a DBA, allows them to use a
van, donated sound equipment that cost about $20,000 and acts as a manager. This anonymous individual wants all of the recognition to go to the band because he desires to see them succeed. “We are grateful for all of the help! Creating a band has been challenging,
but we’ve grown to be brothers. When you spend three years together in a band room and make decisions as a group, it forces the members to become family. Now we are just like some old married couples,” Michael said.
LanceBattalion has provided music at The Oasis and El Primo’s Mexican Grill & Cantina. They opened for Kay Bailey-Hutchison and Desperado. While playing for Desperado, the band performed in front of 3,000 people. The band performs a mix of hard rock from
the 1970s and 1980s, which appeals to an older audience. In the near future, LanceBattalion aspires to perform as a featured band and play original music. “We’re working on an album right now and hope to travel around Texas once we graduate from high school this
month. Our ambition is to make a career as musicians and to have a positive impact on others by simply making uplifting music. We’re usually laid-back, but when the crowd gets into it, we get
into it as well,” Michael concluded. “We don’t want to look back and regret not taking the plunge, so here we go!” - Mansfield NOW Magazine

Right now, you might say that LanceBattalion is “just another band out of North Texas, on the road and trying to make ends meet.”

But if LanceBattalion has anything to say about it, their music will one day be as memorable as those nostalgic lyrics from Boston recalling the legendary rock group’s earliest days.

On June 25, the ambitious young retro rockers will take a mighty leap towards realizing their dream when they open for the Levitt Pavilion’s first ticketed concert for 2022—a show headlined by Tommy DeCarlo, the singer for Boston since 2007, along with special guest Rudy Cardenas, an “American Idol” star famous for Journey covers.

LanceBattalion is a group of freshly graduated Mansfield High School musicians, who formed a band in ninth grade after encouragement from their teacher, Lance Davis. Three years later, Levitt exec Letatia Teykl caught their retro-flavored act—which includes southern rock, blues, grunge and a bit of country - when the boys performed at a Mansfield restaurant where she happened to be dining. That evening Teykl invited the group to open for Desperado, a popular Eagles tribute band that headlined a Levitt show in 2021.

“The guys were great on our stage, and our audience loved them,” says Teykl. “When the opportunity to pair them with Tommy and Rudy came up, I knew we had a winning concert combination.” - Mansfield Record