Maddox Salcedo is a Delta College student studying media and film and drumming for Stars You Can’t See
By: April Hernandez
UNIVERSITY CENTER – Michigan has been the starting ground for many big names in music: Stevie Wonder, Alice Cooper, The White Stripes and many, many more. Maddox Salcedo is a Delta College student and drummer for the band Stars You Can’t See.
Salcedo, only 19, is already tearing it up at Delta College while also pursuing a hobby that he wouldn’t mind turning into a full-time gig touring the world.
“I think it’s definitely possible for local musicians to make it for sure. If you’ve got a good sound, and people are digging it, you’re gonna go somewhere.” Salcedo says. “I guess my dad is a big inspiration for me because his band opened for giants like Godsmack and Breaking Benjamin. I just want to be a pretty successful musician.”
Salcedo’s college endeavors are taking him to a degree in film and media at Delta, which is something he has a niche for.
“I guess if the music thing doesn’t work, I could definitely see myself working in the media field,” Salcedo says. “That’s kind of what I wanted to pursue ever since I was little. I can definitely be working for a media outlet and then plan to play big local shows.”
But his real passion? It’s playing the drums – turning noise into rhythm. He has been playing for about two and a half years now.
Stars You Can’t See came to life in September of 2022. Salcedo reflects on how the band’s name came to be with one of his bandmates, Charles, recalling their conversation that night:
“Does it ever cross your mind that you can only see half the stars at night? Because the other half are on the other side of the planet or something? I’m like, ‘maybe it should be our band name, something about your existential crisis about the stars,” Salcedo says. “[He] looked at me and he said, ‘stars, you can’t see it.’ And I’m like, ‘That’s a good name. That’s it.’ Yeah, Stars You Can’t See.”
Since then, they have been perfecting their vibe, diving into all flavors of rock, from hard-hitting to metal and everything in between. They are all about crafting their own tunes and jamming out to covers. Their single “Breakdown” already racked up 10,000 streams on Spotify.
When it comes to gigs, you can catch Stars You Can’t See tearing up Bemo’s Bar in Bay City like it’s nobody’s business. They’ve also hit up White’s Bar in Saginaw, and they are gearing up for a gig at Coven in Bay City. And let me tell you, these guys aren’t just playing for themselves – they’re playing for the fans. Stars You Can’t See has friends new and old showing up to catch their shows.
When asked about his biggest influences, Salcedo talks about Travis Barker from Blink-182.
“He’s awesome. He’s a badass,” Salcedo says. “It was around, like the winter of 2022 is when I started listening to Travis Barker. I got into Travis Barker because he’s done collabs with rappers. So that’s kind of when I started getting into drumming, and that kind of influenced my style of punk drumming.”
Salcedo also attributes Avenged Sevenfold, Bring Me the Horizon, and The Mars Volta as some other huge influences for him, and let’s not forget the iconic: Black Sabbath.
So, where does he see his band in a few years?
“I definitely see we can be successful and make music because we all are kind of developing our sound and we’re very early and we’re already you know, making it up there,” Salcedo says.
But he isn’t doing this for the money.
“I don’t want to just be famous; I don’t want to just be rich,” Salcedo says. “That’d be nice to make a living off of music, but I also want the music we make to be kind of influential and impactful.”
Whether they’re rocking out in sold-out arenas or just jamming at a local venue, Salcedo is in it for the love of music.
Maddox Salcedo and Stars You Can’t See are taking the Michigan music scene by the horns, one drumbeat at a time. Keep your eyes peeled and your ears open because these guys are destined for greatness.
