Centreville residents Peter Douskalis and Alex Freidah, both 20, were high school seniors with a newly formed guitar band in 2005. A mere 2 1/2 years later, Peter and Alex found themselves opening up for the singer of the 54th greatest song of all time, according to Rolling Stone Magazine. The venue was the Strasburg Theatre in Strasburg, Va., and the lead act was Percy Sledge, made famous for his 1966 hit "When a Man Loves a Woman."
"TO BE ON stage with a man who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was such a huge honor," said Alex.
Officially named the Peter & Alex Guitar Duo, the 2005 graduates of Westfield High School are music majors attending Shenandoah University Conservatory and Peabody Conservatory, respectively.
"We were both raised on rock and roll. Alex is majoring in classical guitar and I am majoring in jazz guitar," said Peter. "So the whole point of our guitar duo is to take the aspects of jazz and classical music that we're studying while giving it a rock style. We're trying to do something unique but with all the influences of all the music that we listened to growing up."
Now for the first time, Peter and Alex are releasing their first professional CD. The CD release party will be held on Sunday, Aug. 12, at Jammin' Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, in Vienna.
"I am extremely excited for it," said Peter. "I have never had a professional CD on the market before so the fact that we have a CD of this caliber and we're doing this event at such a high-class place like Jammin' Java is very exciting for us."
He added: "People can expect to see an acoustic, instrumental guitar duo. Its going to be a very personal atmosphere, we're going to talk about the CD, make acknowledgments, and tell the stories behind the songs."
The doors will open at 7 p.m. and the show will begin promptly at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at www.jamminjava.com or 703-255-1566, ext. 8.
While currently going to school and playing in the summer, both Peter and Alex would like to pursue music as a full-time career.
SAID PETER: "I hope to make a living as a musician I hope to get my music into a lot of people's hands, but regardless of what I do I plan to make a living as a professional musician."
Alex agreed: "My goal is to make a living purely by playing guitar, whether that's a combination of gigs, teaching, giving lessons — basically anything I can do be a musician."
For more information, go to www.peterandalex.com or attend their CD release at Jammin' Java on Aug. 12.