KEVIN CEDAR
This band technically started in 5th grade when I met my best friend Shawn. We have been writing music our whole lives but Houdini's Code started in 2023 when we started recording our first album ESCAPE. We recorded the album in basements, 1 bedroom apartments, and even an Airbnb without running water. We released it March 2024 and since doing so, we have watched this band grow.
In my professional life, I run my own media business, Kevin Cedar Media, and I've worked for the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Toledo Zoo, and multiple agencies. My work has been featured on Sports Illustrated, appeared on Good Morning America, and recently I won three Cleveland Addy Awards while working at Buds & Pals.
Every song tells a story that means something to me. I’m definitely not the best vocalist or the best guitar player in the world, but nobody gets more fulfillment out of building a project from scratch. This band has given me the opportunity to combine all my passions into one project.
We've already released an album, have a new one on the way, gone on tour, headlined shows regionally, and been on TV, the radio, and in magazines. The best part is we just got started. I can't wait until we actually become good. Then watch out.
LEAD VOCALS/GUITAR
MIQE SMITH
I’m Miqe
I've been playing drums since I was 14 but I've been banging on things since the walls on the inside of my mother's uterus.
Music found me when I needed it most and we have sustained a relationship ever since that foundation. I love playing music with a chaotic passion veiled in structure as a form of musical worship and Houdini's Code gives me that opportunity to thrive as a drummer.
I'm on just about every social media site under Maestrobates. If you want to know more, come to one of our shows!
DRUMS
HOUDINI'S CODE
WE AREN'T
INTO MAGIC.
SHAWN DAVIS
Our band started back in fifth grade when I was alphabetically forced to sit next to a kid named Kevin. The second we started trading Joe Dirt quotes and trying to make each other laugh with ugly faces while the teacher was talking, Houdini’s Code was born. But it actually started technically when we released our first album in 2024 called ESCAPE.
Houdini’s Code is where all of our random projects and creativity finally clicked. The music, the comedy, and the funny videos all became one thing. And no, I didn’t pick the band name. That was all Kevin.
I’ve been playing guitar since I was twelve years old, raised on a steady diet of classic rock and Bon Jovi. I graduated from Cleveland State University with a degree in theater. I also have been doing stand up comedy, acting, and have played guitar in other bands throughout the years.
This project has been an absolute blast, and it has been incredibly exciting to watch us grow from a band recording music in a basement to a band headlining a basement.
LEAD GUITAR/vocals
JUAN LOPEZ
I started playing bass at 11 and joined my first band, 15 Years Away, at 14. In high school, I joined a band called Pass The Napkin with Kevin and Shawn just for fun, and eventually had to move on when I left for college.
Over the years, I continued playing music on my own and eventually taught myself how to play guitar. In 2026, I had the opportunity to join Houdini’s Code & reconnected Kevin and Shawn, which feels like coming full circle.
My influences range from classic rock and alternative to punk, hardcore, and emo, and I’ve always loved the connection and energy that comes from creating music with other people.
Outside of music, I’m into modifying cars, animals, working as a web admin, and running a small business designing aerodynamic metal parts for cars.
GUITAR/vocals
I'm Clarissa, better known as Pip.
My musical beginning was with a dusty orchestral double bass. But, after getting chastised one too many times by my instructors for rowdiness, I thought the best thing to do was add electricity to my instrument. Only then I discovered that Im a rock star who doesn't like being told what to do.
I grew up surrounded by music; everything from dancing to my mother playing Mozart on the piano to screaming with my father blasting alternative on road trips.
I'm driven by the frisson of music and want to create and share in the experience. Houdini's Code embraces doing what you love, and we are inspired by whatever feels good.