A chance encounter with a neighbor selling an unused drum kit back in 2010 on Labor Day, has led Gunnar Coston to a prize position in one of central New York’s premiere classic rock bands, a thick folder full of press clippings, and a promising future in the music business -- and all before he even graduated from Oneida High School.

Raised in a musical household as the son of a guitar virtuoso, it didn’t take long before Gunnar was hitting an instrument of his own. But it was the neighbor’s decision to let go of that under-appreciated kit that prompted Gunnar to bring it to his own basement and start pounding. Mostly self-taught, he quickly found his niche and was soon welcomed into his father Roy Coston’s bands, starting with LoveBone, moving on with him to Ozzmageddon (Ozzy Osborne tribute), Stone Dead Forever (Motörhead tribute) and finally to make up the nucleus of their self-named group Coston.

Gunnar’s Soultone endorsement came during the winter of his junior year of high school, a day he remembers for bounding right downstairs to tell his dad the good news before they headed out to school and work that day.

His crowning achievement during the first half of his senior year wasn’t his grades {even though he does have an 87% average}, but his selection for the Keith James All Star Band in an online voting competition sponsored by Utica, N.Y. radio station Oldies 96.1 and their morning show personality Keith James. Gunnar blew away his competition in the Internet voting and took his place at the throne for that all-star grouping as their made their world debut in October 2014, with only a scant few days to learn the set and no rehearsals.

He also placed first in the Sylvan Beach talent show during the summer of 2014, and started teaching drum lessons at the Oneida YMCA that same year.

Combining dynamic flare with a youthful exuberance, Gunnar drives the hard-edged classic rock from bands like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pat Travers, Ozzy Osbourne, and the Scorpions. Some of his standout performances include his own drum solo to Zeppelin’s “Moby Dick” -- the centerpiece of their live shows -- plus his note-for-note perfection of the drum intro to Priest’s “Painkiller,” and a duet with bassist Mike Jaquays on an electrified, rocked-up version of “Wipe Out.”

Big-name influences include Tommy Aldridge, Scott Travis, Carl Canedy, Joe Hasselvander, A.J. Pero, Joey Jordison, just to name a few, while his local heroes are Kevin Meacham, his dad’s own drummer and a long-time family friend who passed away in 2012, and Joe Andros. It is perhaps Meacham’s influence that has prompted him the most to continue developing his prowess, as Gunnar now stands ready to preserve the memory of his late mentor’s own drumming through his own playing.

Even at just 17 years old, he already has a batch of road-traveling stories to tell. Gunnar has already opened for internationally touring acts like Raven, Green Jelly, Randy Jackson of Zebra, Pat Travers, Blanco Diablo, and certainly held his own against the talents of their own seasoned drummers. He performed on his school stage in the host band for the Oneida Healthcare Auxiliary’s fundraiser talent show in the spring of 2013, and also for Japanese exchange students at a special assembly in their honor in 2014 and 2015.

Now with the addition of their new lead vocalist Bill Burnette, Coston as a band is at a peak in both personal and audience appreciation. But at the same time, Gunnar is preparing to graduate from high school in 2015 to all-new musical career opportunities, which are indeed endless for this young prodigy.

Now in September of 2015 he has joined a new band WICKED! Check out the website Wickedrocknroll.com!

More info on his new band more to come with a tour.

For more information about Gunnar and what he is doing visit Roycoston.com and Wickedrocknroll.com to get all that information.