It all started with a passion and a bass. 

In fifth grade, Dylan Mix was presented with an opportunity to play percussion, trumpet or cello in school. His teacher’s motivation and his personal interest led him to choose the bass. Mix made the decision to build his musical career from there. 

Mix, currently a senior, has gone beyond what is expected of SHS band students. Outside of the school’s music program, he created the first jazz combo, or a small jazz band, made up of SHS students. During his high school career, Mix used his passion for music to create bigger opportunities.

“If I wasn’t doing this (music) I’d just be sitting at home doing nothing, which is kind of not great for my soul,” Mix said. “I need to be doing things I feel, and this combo really helps with that. It fills a part of my heart.”

Mix has had different teachers prompting him to pursue his music career. During his freshman year, he was invited to join the marching band by his percussion director, Brantley Heath. His band director, Jeff Maupin, encouraged him to strive towards jazz in general. 

Through that, Mix learned about the various types of band classes that were available to him. He quickly became immersed in the music community.

“Dylan has only gotten better each year as a musician,” Maupin said. “He’s a great kid. He does a lot of good things for us.”

In the past five years, Mix has been involved in various band and jazz classes. He’s been a part of concert band, marching band, jazz ensemble, jazz class and indoor percussion ensemble.  

After the school jazz band season was over, at the end of his sophomore year, Mix wanted to continue to play outside of school. 

“Maupin ended our after-school jazz ensemble, and he said, ‘If you guys want to do any more, you can do a combo after school,’” Mix said. “And I was like, ‘You know what, sure, I’ll start my own.’”

Soon after, Mix started his own small jazz combo, called the Shelby Street Crossing. 

The formation of the band was completely student-led. Mix said that the members met up, started playing music they all enjoyed and the band came together. 

Not only has the passion for music been a part of the band, but also a prominent part of Mix’s household.

Mix’s love for music was encouraged by both of his parents, his mom being a professional singer, while his dad was a guitarist. 

“My dad is a metal musician, and he likes to play very fast or hard guitar parts,” Mix said. “My mom did choir through her younger life and was a very good singer. Their skills that I’ve seen and they’ve demonstrated through my childhood motivated me to get better.”

Besides the motivation from his parents, he felt a pull towards jazz music, which played a key role in the creation of the band. 

“For a lot of rock or country music, you learn the song and okay it’s done,” Mix said. “With jazz sections, it’s more ‘here’s what you’re playing, now make it your own.’ It’s more creative, I believe.”

Mix has formed a bond with music, and also a bond with the other members of Shelby Street Crossing. He said that his friends, seniors Bryson Martinez and Parker Costello, co-founded the band. 

Martinez and Mix have maintained a strong friendship inside and outside of the band. Together, they have been involved in percussion and jazz classes, indoor drumline, marching band and after-school jazz. 

“I’ve been close with Dylan since middle school because we’re both percussionists … ” Martinez said. “We just do so much with music together. It makes it really easy for us to connect.” 

Martinez says that the three played very well together. They have a natural chemistry in the band.

Martinez, Mix and Costello played together up until August of 2023. Eventually, senior Drake Phipps, junior David Redman and sophomore Elliott Collie joined the band. 

Shelby Street Crossing participates in a variety of contests and jazz festivals. Maupin officiates the sign-ups and helps them find different opportunities to perform. 

The first time the band played at ISSMA, a state band competition, they were awarded with a gold plaque. 

As the group was given gold for the

 first time, it became a reason to continue pursuing their passion. 

“We didn’t rehearse that much for those songs, but we were very excited to continue doing it,” Mix said. “It gave a reason to actually keep doing it.” 

It wasn’t always easy for Mix to get up and perform in front of an audience.

Personally, he used to experience some anxiety about performing music. 

“I don’t really have that anxiety about music anymore, but I did in freshman and sophomore year,” Mix said. “Now I don’t really feel worried about that. Most people, when you go and perform, wouldn’t be like, ‘Wow he missed a wrong note.’”

As a group, they struggled with time management and conflicting opinions.  

Mix says that it was tough to organize throughout all of the obstacles but they pulled through in the end. The band sat down together to make plans and preparations for the future. He still deals with differing schedules and time management. 

Throughout the struggles, Mix continues to stay motivated because of music itself. He listens to popular jazz artists and their songs to make it through the hard days. 

“I’ll listen to something by Chet Baker from his combo, or I’ll listen to a Wes Montgomery song, two jazz legends,” Mix said. “When I hear it, it makes me feel very warm inside, and that’s the same feeling 10 times when you’re playing a really nice song in a combo.”

Mix is currently browsing among the different options for colleges. He is looking at Indiana University because of their highly-rated music program, Jacobs School of Music. 

Mix wants to continue playing with a band during college, and he looks forward to becoming an audio engineer in the future. 

“I’d like to get really good at recording music,” Mix said. “That’s my passion. I like audio engineering and making sure music sounds really good on recording. I’d like to be able to record some of my own combo sections that sound really nice so people can listen to them.” 

Even though Mix has his own future for music planned, he has advice for those whose musical future is undecided. 

“There’s no barrier,” Mix said. “You can start your combo or join a combo. There’s no barrier and no limit. Just go and do it.”