Let/s face it 77 the world is full of wanna-be rock bands dreaming of making it big.

So what makes Santa Maria/s Fairwell any different?

For starters, its members seem surprisingly grounded in reality, given their relatively young ages.

Three of its five members 77 Nick Zoppo, Brandon Demchak and James Goodwin 77 are just 17 years old and still in high school. The other two 77 Jason Mosqueda and Seth Logan, both 18, graduated within the past two years.

"We/re pretty down-to-earth guys," said guitarist and lead vocalist Zoppo, a senior at Righetti High School. "We want to get out of the town and out of the garage."

To do that, the band clearly understands that lofty expectations about the music industry won/t make them successful. It takes commitment, consistency and producing a quality product.

"We don/t /wing/ things," Zoppo said.

The band, which describes its music style as guitar-driven and hard core with a heavy metal influence, practices faithfully twice a week in Logan/s garage. It also fits in a third, and sometimes a fourth, more informal practice during the week. Each practice runs three or four hours.

In addition, the band meets with its manager, Kevin Carr, on a weekly basis 77 either after one of the practices or on Sunday 77 to discuss band business.

To help with band costs, such as gas to get to shows, each member contributes ,5 a week to the "band fund." Each week or so, the members vote on how to use the money.

Involved with KDC promotions, Carr is also a student at Musicians Institute in Hollywood, where he is taking a course in business management.

Having met, and become friends, with the band through that venture, Carr said the band/s passion for their music was evident.

Their business savvy, on the other hand, needed some guidance, he said.

"I figured I could help with that area," Carr said, noting he is currently trying to put together a Fairwell nationwide tour.

Zoppo, Demchak and Goodwin, both seniors at Nipomo High School, Mosqueda, who graduated from Lompoc High School, and Logan, who graduated from Arroyo Grande High School, have been playing together for almost a year, although Zoppo and Demchak formed Fairwell years before that.

Previous members, said Demchak, who plays drums and also sings vocals, weren/t as committed to the band as the current crew.

"Dedication (among past members) was the hardest part," he said, referring to the efforts and loyalty of Logan, who plays bass, Mosqueda, who plays lead guitar and Goodwin, who plays rhythm guitar.

Demchak and Zoppo, who have played music together since eighth grade, noted how happy they are with the band, adding that everyone seems to be on the same page where their objectives are concerned.

"This is like the family right here," Zoppo said, referring to his band mates.

Their camaraderie and general ease with each other was apparent, and particularly highlighted, at certain points during the interview when Zoppo jokingly rattled off some perhaps premeditated metaphors about music, such as the following:

"You can call us athletes, /cause this is our sport," he said.

"That/s deep, dude," the others chidingly responded.

In the short time the current members have been together, Fairwell has played a number of local gigs and also others within California, including in Bakersfield, Gilroy and at the Cobalt Cafe in Los Angeles.

They/ve also attained a modest following, mostly among teens, although some adults have attended their shows.

"We/ve been told our live show is insane," Demchak said. "We/ve worked really hard to get where we are."

The group added that it respects, and takes seriously, the input from the other bands they/ve played with locally and on the road.

Apparently, even his grandparents like their music, Logan said.

Zoppo, however, noted the band, all of whom began playing an instrument or singing in junior high and early high school, acknowledges that their style isn/t for everyone.

The group was recently contacted by Vivaldi Media, a company that provides promotional services for independent music artists, with an offer to include one of their songs on a compilation CD with 18 other bands nationwide.

"We took that offer in a heartbeat," Zoppo said.

According to the company/s Web site, it said it is "extremely selective" about who is chosen to be included on their CDs. While Vivaldi said it covers most of the production costs to include the various bands, each band is supposed to pay a fee for the inclusion of its music. The company also noted, however, that it provides each artist with a certain number of the CDs, which they then can sell to earn the fee amount.

Another goal of the band is to share the stage with some of its favorites, including Symphony in Peril, Underoath, Atreyu, As I Lay Dying, Figure Four, Empty Hearts Bleed Less and Nodes of Ranvier.

Like-minded in their goals, Fairwell members ultimately dream of signing a record deal.

"We want to sign a record contract, for sure," Logan said.

But not at the risk of trading their pure sound for a manufactured one, or gaining new fans at the cost of losing loyal ones.

Fortunately, Carr said, Fairwell is breaking into the business at the right time.

"Independent (music) is becoming the new mainstream," he said, explaining that the Internet has helped promote bands like Fairwell to the masses without them having to sign with a major recording label, and the loss of band control that can come with it.

Zoppo, who writes most of the band/s songs, is currently working on new material. He added that all of the band members contribute to creating the music.

Zoppo draws inspiration for his lyrics from such life experiences as his father dying.

"The most important thing I lost is hope. And I swore over my dead body that I/d never let it go," are a couple of lines from the song about his father/s death, "When Hope Dies."

"There/s a lot more to life (and music) than (boyfriend-girlfriend) relationships," Demchak said.

And people telling them they won/t make it in the music business only fuels their desire to play as hard and charged as they possibly can.

So how will Zoppo, Demchak, Mosqueda, Goodwin and Logan know when they/ve made it?

Goodwin noted that he knows that even at the height of their success, Fairwell might not make a lot of money. But as long as they can keep playing live, even if they have to live off of fast food, he/d be happy.

For Demchak, the moment of enlightenment will be when they/re on stage during a packed show and there/s barely room for anyone to move.

"Kids have to push their way to the front (to see us better)," he said.

The others offered similar visions.

"I want to be the people we admire," Goodwin said.

"I want to be a band that starts other bands," Zoppo added.

Fairwell is creating a band Web site, www.fairwellmusic.com, which is tentatively planned to be completed in one or two months.

To listen some of Fairwell/s tracks and read more about the band, visit www.purevolume.com/fairwell.

* Staff Writer Britt Fairchild can be reached at 739-2220 or by e-mail at bfairchild@pulitzer.net.

Dec. 17, 2004