A lit stage in front of a shaded crowd the crowd roars loudly at the stage, but the stage roars back with the sound of heavy metal. Suddenly the guitar player pulls out his cell phone and takes pictures of the crowd, the crowd screams at the intensively generous gift of entertainment, and attention. The guitarist then puts away his cell phone, and continues playing.

Nikolaj Torres (14) has landed himself as the lead guitarist of the rock band Light Feather. Torres has been singing, playing the guitar, and the drums for twelve years. In addition to this, he has played the piano for five years. The band has already made a record deal, and the first album is yet to be released.

Torres moved to Stafford from New Jersey,

“I had a very hard, lonely life for years in New Jersey. Every day was a struggle, for money, family, and health. Music was my escape. I’d play the guitar every day and I would never get tired of it, never. So I played and never stopped. Developed a band, got noticed, and here I am,” Torres said.

    Light Feather currently does about 3 concerts a month, usually with an audience estimating from around 1,500-3,000 people.

    Torres learned how to make music via YouTube, family, and by discovering new ways of playing by putting it all together. He has never taken lessons and refused to ever do so.

“I don’t believe in paying to learn music.”  Torres Said.

    Torres plays music based off of self teaching, he also writes his own music.

“I write music to change the world for the best. To give people hope, to save people from depression, pain, suffering, the way music saved me.”

    Torres claims that the heavy metal band My Chemical Romance saved him from his suffering when he lived in New Jersey.

“They helped me alot, they changed me alot, and they inspired me to change the world for the better.”  He said.

    The ranks of Torres’s fans include far more than friends and music connoisseurs, it also includes his family.

    “They are proud of me. They are happy I found something to get a release. They support me and inspire me to follow my dreams and succeed in my goals. I wouldn’t be here without them.”

    Torres has transformed the pain of his depression in Jersey, and has used it as a power source to pursue the dream that music gave him. Now that he has covered all his obstacles, he leaves high school with a message for everyone,

“It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to hurt. It’s okay to live. Because we will be us. And we will rock this world with nothing to stop us. A match light in a world of darkness can be seen by all. Darkness will never concur light. The only thing that will defeat light is light itself, if light gives up. We are the light, and we will not give up, we will carry on.”