SABATTUS — The first guitar caught his eye in an antique store with his mom when he was 6. They paid $20 and brought the Harmony Stella home that next week.

By first grade, Trevor Laliberte was strumming and singing “The Peanut Sat on the Railroad Track” in a school talent show.

“When I was little, I was pretty curious so I was into a lot of things,” Laliberte said. “(The Stella) was so cool.”

Now at 11, he’s lead guitar in an Auburn jam band whose next youngest member is his dad, Mike, on the cowbells.

On top of that, “I like to write songs,” Trevor said. “It’s actually better than listening to music sometimes.”

He describes his style as anything from “jazzy blues country stuff to heavy metal.” He plays one of six different guitars — three electric, three acoustic — to fit the style and mood. One guitar, nicknamed Barney, belongs to his uncle. Another came from an aunt who never played it herself.

One is kept at his grandmother’s house so he always has something to play there.

Trevor, a sixth-grader, tries to practice every day. He also takes lessons. Not playing can result in a condition he’s nicknamed “guitar disorder.”

“It’s almost like a stress relief when he comes home from school,” Mike Laliberte said. “He comes in, plays guitar and he’s fine.”

Trevor plays local open mic nights, like the ones at the Auburn Public Library. (His dad has made videos of some of those and posted them on YouTube.) Sometimes Trevor will bring demo tapes to school for his friends to listen to.

“Most everybody loves my stuff but there’s always one or two people …”

Know of a collection that really sings? We’re always looking for ideas. Contact staff writer Kathryn Skelton at 689-2844 or [email protected]

Trevor Laliberte strums on one of his guitars in his room at home in Sabattus.

Trevor Laliberte strums on one of his guitars in his room at home in Sabattus.