Force of Habit -- A Dixon Neighborhood Supports Kids' Musical Aspirations

“This is the first time we've rehearsed in a professional setting,” exulted Phil Mendisco, proud parent and Force of Habit's engineer/road tech/chief cheerleader, “but we're going to record down at SoundFarm in Vacaville in two weeks, so it's gonna be a crash course here at Dixon Rock Studio till then for our kids.”

Crash courses are part of paying dues for the 15-and-16-year-olds making up Force of Habit. Only four months ago it was just the Mendisco kids, Ryan and Dominic, jamming and writing songs in their spare time. Occasionally they'd crank up their electric guitars in the cluttered Mendisco garage. Amazingly, there were no complaints from the neighbors.

“Ours is a well-established neighborhood, with some residents having lived here 30 years or more,” explained Ryan's and Dominic's mom, Patty. “They're just very supportive of kids trying to better themselves. Plus, once they understood Phil's and my commitment and goal-setting for the kids, our whole neighborhood got behind Force of Habit.”

Not even the Mendisco's next door neighbor, a Solano County Sheriff's deputy, raised a fuss over the amplified birth pangs of Force of Habit. 

The ball got rolling when Ryan (on drums) and Dominic (lead singer/guitar) were approached by Dakota Binninger, who lives a couple blocks away, who asked if he could play in their band. The Mendisco brothers hadn't known they were in a band at that point, but told Dakota he could join if he learned how to play bass guitar. Which Binninger did in a matter of weeks and found himself in a band. Garrett “Woody” Wood (lead guitar), another neighborhood kid who was tuned into the sudden “band craze,” also joined, and Force of Habit was born. 

Patty says that onstage, “their chemistry just mixes so well, so natural. It's like they already knew the moves and styles of playing they were going to do and play off of each other before they tried them out together onstage.”

Of course, it probably has helped that the kids have watched many hours of music videos of their favorite bands, including Metallica and Vacaville's Papa Roach. Not to mention the faithful support they've all received from proud parents Phil and Patty.

Now that they've played the Dixon May Fair and have been cutting their teeth rehearsing in Dixon Rock Studio, look for Force of Habit to truly be a force to be reckoned with when their new EP (all original songs, including “Broken” and “Nuclear”) hits stores and parties around Dixon and the outlying area and they start playing more professional gigs.

Next tentative Force of Habit concert will happen at the Dixon Teen Center, date to be announced.