(March 10, 2011) — Towards the end of 2008, alternative rock band Prisoners of Disguise had just formed, and were attempting to compose and record songs at home using GarageBand and ProTools on their Mac. Now, two and a half years later, they find themselves having just completed their first, professionally produced EP. “If it weren’t for music, I think I’d be in a mental institution going crazy right now,” junior Aram Boyadjian says. As the vocalist and guitarist for Prisoners of Disguise (P.O.D.), Boyadjian looks at music as an “involuntary action — the only way of getting [his] feelings and anger out.” Boyadjian has been playing the guitar for six years and taking voice lessons for two years. He has also been writing music for three years as one of the main writers for the band, along with junior Kevork Bekarian, lead singer and guitarist for P.O.D., who played the piano for seven years before familiarizing himself with the guitar. Bekarian has now been playing guitar for almost four years and singing two years. Junior Shunt Manoel has been drumming for three and a half years, two and a half of which he has spent with Prisoners. The three, who knew each other before starting high school, formed the band once they came to Clark and realized that they shared a mutual passion for music. They held “jam sessions” at Manoel’s house, where they mostly covered songs by System of a Down, one of their main influences (along with Radiohead, Led Zeppelin, Queens of the Stone Age, The Who, and Muse). Bassist Raffi Kevorkian of Crescenta Valley High School joined the group shortly after. Their first year as a band was mostly spent writing, according to Boyadjian. Prisoners of Disguise performed live for the first time after friends told them of an open slot at the California Institute of Abnormalarts in North Hollywood. “Even though we sucked, it was a great experience; it got us to do more shows once we got more confidence,” Bekarian says. The band now receives invitations from venues asking whether they’d like to perform on certain dates. As a self-managed band, they make these decisions about where and when to play, but don’t take money into serious consideration. “It’s all about getting our name out and getting publicity,” Boyadjian says. “It’s also a big deal to have people out there in the crowd who have been to your shows enough times to be singing along to your songs,” Bekarian adds. He, along with Boyadjian and Manoel, find joy in playing live and composing their own music. “We never stop writing,” Boyadjian says. Boyadjian and Bekarian often compose songs over webcam; one will write lyrics to match a guitar line, or vice versa. Occasionally, Boyadjian says, it’ll all come flowing out at once. They usually write a complete song and bring it in, then the other band members will add their own flair to it. The group explains that it can take anywhere from five minutes to one week, to two years to complete a song, but that they can have the basic structure of a song ready in 25 minutes. Five of their perfected songs were chosen to be featured on their self-titled EP, three being “Hey Marie”, “Realize”, and “In Too Deep”, a song they performed at Clark’s talent show last year. Bekarian describes their experience at Burbank’s Stereotrain Productions as very “professional and educational.” In producing the record, the band worked with engineer and band member of Capital Cities Sebu Simonian, one of Bekarian’s family friends. P.O.D. finds that having their two vocalists harmonizing together makes their music different. “We’re easier to listen to. You don’t really need to like rock music to appreciate our songs,” Boyadjian says. Not all of their compositions have meaning, according to Bekarian. “Sometimes they’re just songs that sound good to people,” he says. “It doesn’t always matter what they mean to us; what’s important is what they mean to others,” Boyadjian adds. They don’t intend on their lyrics or music changing or instigating much in society; they simply aim for the enjoyment of the public.