PUNXSUTAWNEY — In the Neil Young song ‘My My, Hey Hey,’ he sings, “Rock and roll is here to stay,” and later, “Rock and roll can never die,” and in today’s musical world of autotune and more, old souls still find a way to keep rock and roll alive.
Punxsutawney’s Alex Shumaker is one of those old souls, hearing the call since he was a young kid.
A 2025 graduate of the Punxsutawney Area High School, Shumaker, or “Shuey” can be found playing in Barclay Square during one of the many festivals and other events put together locally, along with other venues in the wider area.
Along with all that, he has had opportunities to play with some famous artists and travel to different parts of the country, all before graduating high school.
Currently playing in the rock band FUSE, doing solo acoustic shows (Alex Shumaker Acoustic) and working in the recording studio, Shumaker has plenty keeping him busy right now, but he took a moment to reflect on where it all began for him back in 2010 and 2011.
“I was around five-years old when I started watching videos of the band Journey,” said Shumaker. “I got DVDs from Walmart and started watching them, and then I started beating on random stuff.”
He added, “I drummed on an exercise ball, and my grandparents got me a drum set. After that, I played all the time and that’s all I did for a while; I played every day for hours. Then, I started playing guitar a little and worked in to the keyboard.”
Along with the DVDs, he would get plenty of CDs as well. “And it took off from there after that,” he added.
At his age back then in 2010 and 2011, it wasn’t the newest pop sensation he was listening to, but music that was 20 to 40 years old.
“I have always loved older music, with it being what my parents (Brooke and Robb Shumaker) listened to,” he said. “Most kids would get toys, but I would go and buy CDs.”
