It’s the energy. The adrenaline rush. The knowledge that they are about to rock the audience’s and their own worlds.

For five 15- and 16-year-olds in the Oak Harbor band S.M.S., music is what brings harmony and thrill to their lives. Music brought them together and served as a release for sorrow when they were forced apart. Music transformed passing friendships into deep bonds and turns performance nights into “music parties.”

Experience performances by S.M.S. Band and other local bands at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at Click Music. Admission is $5.

S.M.S. Band plays ska music, an upbeat style born in Jamaica in the 1950s. Band members are Shinzo Higashiyama, 15, playing tenor saxophone; Kevin Silveira, 16, on vocals and bass; Breanna Roderos, 16, playing trumpet; Kaine Benson, 16, on guitar and backup vocals; and David Nuanez, 15, playing drums.

“It started out as a group of friends who found out about ska and said, ‘Let’s play that music,’” Silveira said. Since they started the band three years ago, a couple of the founding members moved on while new members joined, but the band is still based on friendship. Weekly practices are meant to be fun and stress-free.

“We don’t want to make the band something you have to do that’s stressful. Being in the band is something fun,” Silveira said. “Honestly, we hang out more than we practice… They begin to be your best friends and you find yourself wanting to hang out with them more.”

Road trips, camping and other activities sweeten an already tight group of teens.

“That’s the thing about music is it brings people together like nothing else does,” said Avi Rostov, owner of Click Music.

The band practices and performs at Click Music, which promotes local bands, offers music lessons and sells instruments, music and more.

“You guys have been a gift because it’s what we wanted to happen,” Rostov told the band members. “That’s what it’s (Click Music) about, bringing some live music to this town.”

Members of S.M.S. built a stage at Click Music in a large-sized garage from when the facility was a ship building operation.

“These guys said, ‘Oh, garage band garage,’” Rostov laughed. The band set up a concert, which more than 60 people attended, and then used the proceeds to buy lumber. “And they and their parents spent the weekend building the epic stage. It’s due to their teamwork.”

Ska may not be a well-known music genre around the island, but when band members learned of it, it just clicked with them.

“It’s one of the few genres I can actually play in with my trumpet. It incorporates horns in a cool way,” Roderos said.

“The original message for ska was unity… That’s what I like about this music is people can come listen and not be discriminated against,” Silveira said.

The band is almost to the point of playing all original songs. Playing covers is an important part of any band’s childhood as it grows into itself, Benson said.

“Once you branch out from that, you can actually be called a band, when you start doing your own,” Silveira added.

While their songs embrace a variety of themes, some of the unhappy lyrics hold the most meaning. When band members who had become close friends had to leave the area, band members expressed their sorrow through music.

“It’s a good alternative to doing violent things… If you’re sad, it’s a good gateway to get it out,” Silveira said of writing music.

Ska music sounds upbeat and cheerful, even if the lyrics aren’t, Benson said.

Higashiyama said he grew up hearing ska music, which his mom listened to. He explained the differences between Jamaican, British and American ska music, which the band mixes and draws from while maintaining its own one-of-a-kind sound.

“We don’t want to be that type of band you listen to on your iPod and say, ‘I know who that is,’” Silveira said.

“We want to be unique,” Roderos added.

“You can basically do whatever you want with ska. We have a metal breakdown in one of our songs,” Silveira said. “We’ll keep you on your toes during shows!”

Shows are where everything comes together for the band members.

“I absolutely love it!” Silveira said of performing. “It’s like a drug to me. You can’t get that feeling anywhere else. It’s a good feeling ‘cause you’re bringing something to people they don’t usually get.”

“Listening to bands live is fun, but playing to people live is so much better,” Higashiyama said.

“A really good feeling is when the crowd starts singing your songs,” Silveira said. It’s especially meaningful when the community attends shows to support local musicians, Silveira added.

“It’s great when part of our generation takes time to appreciate hard working musicians,” Silveira said.

Local bands perform

S.M.S. Band, AlcoJuana, The Martian Youth, Thrashing Felony and Gutter Gourmet play at 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 29 at Click Music.

Admission is $5.

Click Music is located at 1130 NE Seventh Ave. in Oak Harbor.

For details, call 675-5544.