sentences:  He began playing guitar in the seventh grade.As a teenager in the 80's, Tihista was a self-described loner and fan of heavy metal bands like KISS and Mötley Crüe until his junior year in high school when his brother gave him a tape of Meat Is Murder by the Smiths.Tihista promptly tore down the heavy metal posters adorning his room and began listening to similar alternative rock and punk/gothic rock bands like The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees.