Jacob Mendez, sophomore physics major, is the bass player of the band Pull for Fire, which recently won a Battle of the Bands in Portland.

Mendez comes from a very musical family; his three brothers and five sisters were all involved in band in high school.

Two of his brothers played the trumpet in school so naturally Mendez was drawn to the trumpet and began picking it up and playing at a young age.

When fifth grade rolled around and it was time to choose between taking band or choir classes, the choice was obvious; Mendez chose the trumpet.

“It was like I had a leg up on the other kids, since I had been messing around on [the trumpet] for a while,” Mendez said.

In La Center, Wash., a town with a population a little over 3,000, Mendez played trumpet in both the jazz and symphonic bands at La Center High school.

While in his high school’s jazz band, Mendez and some of the eventual members of Pull for Fire formed a jazz group.

While playing at a school jazz concert, the group improvised blues into the performance. They weren’t supposed to do this, but what they played sounded good so they didn’t get in trouble.

“After the concert we were all kind of like, ‘hmmm we sounded good, why don’t we start playing other music together?’” Mendez said.

Mendez and a few of the other members of the jazz group eventually formed Pull for Fire and after a few instrument switches, the lineup was finalized.

Mendez ended up on bass, with Bret Johnston on drums, Walter Hansen III on keyboard, and Blake Johnston on guitar and vocals.

The best way to describe their music is as a hybrid of blues and alternative rock, with a classic rock feel to it.

“Our music is influenced by driving rock,” Blake Johnston said. “And we like 70’s rock bands like [Led]Zeppelin.”

The win in Portland came after advancing through a qualifying round last September, where six bands played and only three bands went on to the next round.

There, two other concerts in which the top three bands also advanced to the final round.

Pull for Fire sold the most tickets to the final show and received the loudest cheers, which secured their win.

Contest organizers used a decibel monitor to determine the winner through crowd applause.

For winning the Battle of the Bands, Pull for Fire will play in Hollywood and San Francisco. They also won a mixing board to help with home recording.

“It’s awesome to win, it means a lot and shows that maybe we could make a career out of playing music,” Bret Johnston said.

The band has released one album and is planning a second one in a few months. Practicing together has been tough due to the distance between Mendez and the rest of the band.

“It’s harder to write new music because I’m at school, Mendez said. “Me and Bret usually just write the songs and then show the other guys whenever we see them,” Blake Johnston said.

Mendez and Bret Johnston said they intend to stay together as long as they can, even though finding time to practice and perform will be difficult while Mendez attends Central.

“[Mendez] is a great person with a passion for music, and I enjoy playing with him,” Bret Johnston said.

Mendez continues to go to school for physics while he clearly has a passion, love and knack for music.

“I actually originally was going to go to school for music,” Mendez said. “Then I realized that I don’t need a degree to play music. With music you either got it or you don’t. I decided to go to school for a degree in something else that is a challenge, and I can still play music.”

Mendez explained that since high school if he wasn’t playing music he was doing something with math. After a physics class in high school he became highly interested in the subject.

For now, Mendez is still studying physics and is working with the rest of the band as much as possible despite the distance.