Many students try hard to blend school, work, family and social life. For students who are members of alternative music bands, that also means scheduling in rehearsals, recording time, song writing and performances.”If you love something enough you make the time,” Duston Bourg, freshman from Chauvin, said.

Local bands have found effective ways of making time for music.

“You have to set a schedule. We know exactly when we’re going to practice,” Seth Stogner, freshman from Lockport, said.

Stogner plays lead guitar for the Houma-based band, Carrier.

Bourg and fellow band members, Alonzo Johnson, allied health senior from Thibodaux, and Adam Rouse, English sophomore from Thibodaux, make up the Thibodaux-based band, Wisdom’s Folly. The group has designated Rouse as their band leader. Rouse helps to make sure that all members of the band are aware of all practices and performances in order to ensure that the band’s time is managed effectively.

“It takes a little bit of effort,” Rouse said. “You have to be dedicated to practicing or the band isn’t going to work out. You have to be dedicated to school, or that’s not going to work out. You have to have priorities and know which one comes first.”

Of course, no mater how effective a band is at time management, unexpected setbacks can always occur during performances as well as practices.

“It feels great until you pop a string in the middle of the first song of the set,” Rouse said.

The thrill of playing for an audience is worth the occasional equipment malfunction, local band members said.

“I like seeing how other people react to our music. When they enjoy what we’re playing, that’s my favorite part,” Stogner said.

Other band members agree that the audience is an important part of a performance.

“We get a very interactive response,” Johnson said. “People will come up on stage and joke with us. They’ll come up and hug us. People sing along to our songs. It’s like a big party.”

Playing for audiences is not only fun, it can also be a way to earn some extra cash.

“We just all like playing music, and getting paid to do something you love is just awesome,” Bourg said.

According to Stogner, an average performance booking pays about $100 depending on the number of bands scheduled for a show.

Of course, to make money, a band must first spend money. A band’s start-up expenses are numerous. Equipment and recording time alone can cost hundreds of dollars. If a band is serious about pursuing a record deal, then the costs increase.

Profits from a band’s performances can also be used to pay for entry fees for local showcases and competitions hosted by various record labels.

“It’s all about being heard by the right people,” Bourg said.

Members of both bands agree that, if given the chance, they would consider making their bands a career.

“It’s the one thing I enjoy doing most,” Stogner said. “I can’t think of any other occupation that I would enjoy more.”

Both bands play and write alternative rock music, but writing their own songs allows both bands to have a unique sound.

“When you’re writing music, you put a little bit of the bands that you listen to into your songs,” Bourg said. “It’s easier to make your own style than to copy someone else’s and a lot more original.”

Johnson, Bourg and Rouse list Sound Garden, Tool, Cold, Blind Side, Radio Head and Weezer as a few of their musical influences.

Stogner is also influenced by other alternative rock artists when writing music.

“I listen to everything from Dave Matthews Band to Slip Knot,” Stogner said.

Each band member became involved in music in a different way.

For some musicians, music is a life-long interest.

“I’ve loved music ever since I was a little kid, and I used to beat on pots and pans,” Johnson said.

For others, musical interest is part of family tradition.

“My dad played music, and he got me involved when I was in sixth grade,” Stogner said.

Some artists start out with academic training.

“My parents were hippies, and they brought me up with the music that they listened to. I wanted to start playing, so I joined band during middle school,” Bourg said.

A few artists, however, join bands for the unique experience.

“Learning to play was interesting to me because it was something that I had never tried before,” Rouse said.