Students looking to see a great show or to expand their musical palette, come down to the UC-Down Under for SEAL’s Local Showcase to see Aramie and Leaders of the Los  perform.

One of the bands, Aramie, is a solo-project fronted by Aramie Payton.  Payton, a Chicago native, has been performing since second grade.  In eighth grade he began his professional singing, dancing and acting career.

Payton, who mainly sticks to R&B and soul music, is planning to add different genres to his music in the near future.

Payton said he is influenced by many musicians, but his favorite is Michael Jackson.

“[Michael Jackson] found a way to create a sound that appeals to almost everyone,” Payton said.

He also is influenced by the music of Trey Songz and the classics of Motown.

Payton is very excited to perform at the Local Showcase. Coming to perform at UW-Whitewater will be a new experience for him.  He is looking forward to perform for, “a new audience at a new venue.”

“It would kind of be my debut in Whitewater,” said Payton

When performing live Payton likes to be engaged with audience.  The most enjoyable aspect of performing live is, “interaction.”

He currently has a mix-tape out titled, “Fanatic.”  Payton is also working on his debut EP and second follow up mix-tape which is scheduled to come out sometime this summer.

The other band, Leaders of the Lost, is a group formed in 2008, but they have had other projects that started as early as 2006.  The group is from the Fox cities and Appleton area.

One of the members, Luke Slomski said the band’s music could be defined as, “hip-hop, underground, lyrical and aggressive.”

“We are inspired about how hip-hop used to be and we want to keep it alive,” Slomski said.

The band’s musical influences mainly span the early to mid ‘90s hip-hop including groups like, The Wu-Tang Clan, Cypress Hill and Dilated Peoples.

“That was when the music was real,” Slomski said.

Leaders of the Lost have recorded two mix tapes.  Their first mix-tape was self-titled.  Their most recent is titled, “Revelation Vol. 1.”  The band has plans on recording a new project which will come out this summer.

Their upcoming show at UW-Whitewater is something the band is really looking forward to.

“This is a show not to miss,” Slomski said. “Everything that hip hop should be is what this will be.”