PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

What if I told you that while you were observing us play, I'm actually observing you?"

It's here in the suburb of North Las Vegas that When You Wake's drummer Neil Larson questions me as we sit upstairs in his house while the other band members tune their instruments for the next song.

It's a regular Thursday afternoon band practice that already has gotten off to a rough start. With a two o'clock practice for which three-fourths of the band has shown up 40 minutes late, there's slight annoyance in the air for cutting time from a practice that was hard enough to schedule. Many of the members still have other obligations, as some have girlfriends, school activities and the biggest interference to practice: jobs.

"We practice as often as Jered's Starbucks work schedule allows," guitar player Steven Wright explains.

"And basically everyone just yells anyways at practice, so nothing really gets done," adds bass player Nathan Gomez.

It's sarcastic remarks and clever one-liners that characterize most of the band members of When You Wake, a band that wasn't solidified with permanent members until 2008.

The band now consists of Cheyenne High School seniors Gomez (bass), Wright (guitar/vocals), Larson (vocals/drums) and lead singer/guitar and piano player Jered Jones. Most of them have gone through different musical adventures while in numerous bands and have even played parts in high school musicals and choir concerts.

"Me and Neil started a hard-core band once," Gomez jokes. "We didn't have a name and we sucked. And that was the end of that."

Now, finally reaching that stage where their fans include more than just their parents, things are moving at a considerably fast rate for When You Wake, a band that can be compared to The Rocket Summer with their sugary sweet lyrics on relationships and catchy pop melodies.

More than 5,000 friends on their MySpace page and the opportunity to record some of their demos at Platinum Sound Lab have led them to performances at almost every Las Vegas venue with other local bands such as Away We Go, The Summit Grove, Love It or Leave It, and In:Aviate. All the performances and street teamwork to get people to notice their band has paid off in the form of new fans.

"I think When You Wake has possible potential in the future with time, just like most bands who start out," says 18-year-old Shadow Ridge senior Jessica Florio. "I think in more time Jered's voice will become stronger and they could do all kinds of things with practice."

With concerts scheduled through May and a possible summer tour, the future is never so clear for most local bands, but When You Wake is willing to wait to see what will happen.

"We don't know what's going to happen to the band when we all graduate," Jones says. "We could all go to college together and see if we can last a couple of more years or we can all go our separate ways and work on our own projects. No matter what, I'll still be involved with music but as of right now I'm having fun making music with my friends."

Trying not to smile through the corner of his mouth, Wright adds, "You have to understand that I have no love for any of these people. I really can't stand any of them."

With that, practice continues, with no more interruptions but with rehearsals of new songs and the occasional Blink 182 cover.