HIGH LIFE: A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Acoustics as Right as Reign : Duo Feels at Home Filling Coffeehouses With an Original Blend of Guitar and Dulcimer

Relaxing inside a coffeehouse sipping java and doing homework is getting to be nearly an everyday thing for Chris Ariza and Dan Dupuis.

The 16-year-olds are becoming well known at local coffee joints, but not for their coffee and homework habits. For the past several months, Ariza, a sophomore at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo, and Dupuis, a sophomore at Dana Hills High School in Dana Point, have been playing music for increasingly enthusiastic crowds.

Ariza plays 12-string acoustic guitar while Dupuis accompanies him on the hammered dulcimer. Together, as Acoustic Reign, they’re the youngest musicians to perform at Java Reef in Laguna Niguel and Fahrenheit 451 in Laguna Beach.

“Coffeehouses started popping up around Orange County, and I just had an affinity to the atmosphere,” Ariza said. “They also played live music, and I thought it’d be cool to play there.”

Christy Francis, manager of Java Reef, says: “No one had ever seen or heard of the hammered dulcimer. They play beautiful music, and everyone seems to enjoy it. The audience claps after each song, and they stay and watch them.”

According to Dupuis, Acoustic Reign provides “background music and atmosphere” for patrons who come to the coffeehouses “to relax and kick back.”

Listening to their mellow sounds, it’s hard to believe that Ariza and Dupuis once had aspirations of becoming heavy-metal rockers. In junior high, they formed a band called Requiem with other guitarists and vocalists and performed during lunch breaks.

Later they committed themselves to a more refined style of music. “I became frustrated with the inability to convey emotion with the electric guitar and began to prefer the acoustic,” Ariza said.

They now describe their sound as “original, contemporary, experimental.”

“It’s an open enough description to allow us to play anything we feel while sounding interesting,” Ariza says.

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They compose most of the work they perform. Two of their standards are “Ashes of Truth” and “That Way Madness Lies,” both written by Ariza.

“Most of our music is an assimilation of moods and feelings,” says Ariza, who cites guitarist Joe Satriani as an influence. “It’s an observation of what we see around us, and go through a number of harmonic and melodic changes.”

Ariza played the violin for four years before teaching himself the guitar. “I enjoyed playing the violin, but after a while, it got really constraining because of how my teacher taught me,” he said. “It was too structured, and I had no freedom to create, which was why I was attracted to guitar.”

Ariza also plays piano, acoustic and electric guitar and is taking classical guitar lessons at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo.

Dupuis also has a wide range of musical talent. He has played drums and percussion in a number of groups, including the All-State Band, All-State Orchestra, All-Southern Band, his school orchestra and the Orange County Symphony and Orchestra. He has played drums for eight years and also plays the piano, tympany and xylophone.

Last summer he added the hammered dulcimer to his slate.

“At the Sawdust Festival, I saw this guy, Jim Fury, playing dulcimer. I talked to him and attended a couple of his workshops,” Dupuis said. “He is my influence on the dulcimer.”

Dupuis and Ariza recently made a half-hour appearance on Saddleback College radio, KSBR-FM 88.5, after being invited by a deejay who had heard them perform.

In the months to come, they will perform several more times at Java Reef, Coffee Tok in Laguna Niguel and Diedrich Coffee in Mission Viejo.

Dupuis has definite plans. “I’d like to become a professional conductor and compose on the side,” he said. “I’d like to compose for movies and do soundtracks.”

Ariza’s goals are to “continue playing guitar and compose large, symphonic works. I’m definitely going to major in music.”

As they continue to perform and compose, one can only expect their achievements to expand--not to mention their taste for exotic coffee.