Vandaleine: The band that found its sound in a parking garage

Vandaleine didn't start in a rehearsal space or a basement. It started with one guitarist and an idea.

Nikkay, the band's lead guitarist, vocalist and co-founder, has been playing guitar for five years. She had always wanted to start a band, and Vandaleine began as her solo act.

That changed when Nikkay invited Judah, a good friend of hers who has been drumming for six years, to join. The two became the band's first official members, and Vandaleine counts them as its co-founders.

Why a parking garage

Before there was a full band, Nikkay and Tyler would play guitar together in a parking garage. She later introduced Tyler to Judah, and the two came up with the idea of bringing everyone and their instruments to the garage because of the acoustics.

The band still needed a bassist. Judah brought along his friend Jack, and when Nikkay asked him to join, he agreed. Tyler was next. He "was a little iffy at first," Nikkay said, but he was on board within a few days.

Looking for the right spot

Since then, the band has played in a string of parking lots. "Ever since then we've just been playing in a bunch of parking lots trying to find the perfect place with the right people watching," Nikkay said.

People have been finding them. According to the band, its sets have drawn teens and tweens from around Livonia and from other parts of Michigan, many of whom happened upon the band mid-jam and stopped to wish its members luck.

"It started out as something small that I honestly didn't expect to go anywhere and then grew into something that was finally a little bit more than only a dream, into what is now Vandaleine." Nikkay, Vandaleine co-founder