WEST VALLEY CITY— Most bands start out playing in garages and basements, and many of them never leave.
Yet those passionate musicians, who continue to develop their craft and bring music alive for their local audiences, form the backbone of the music scene.
"What we're doing is the real meat and potato of the industry. We do it for the passion, not the money," said Andrew Shaw, lead singer of The Adonis, who have been playing throughout the Salt Lake Valley for the past 18 months.
Ian Aldous, drummer for The Adonis and two other bands, is among the small percentage of musicians who have thrived in the local scene. He has been playing the drums and writing music since 1999.
"It gives me an opportunity to whack stuff without causing any personal harm or damage. It kills time," said the 26-year-old Aldous, who has been playing the drums since he was 14.
He joined his first band, Edgar's Mule, in the summer of '99. After six successful years they broke up. Aldous had been working on side projects and filling in for different bands, which turned into permanent drumming gigs for The Adonis, Mushman and Uvada.
Playing for three bands can be time-consuming, but Aldous said he loves the different styles of music each band has to offer.
"Mushman is very mellow, The Adonis is your traditional rock 'n' roll band and Uvada is the medium between the two," he said.
Mushman has only been together a few months, but the band's origins stretch back to the teenage years of lead singer Dave Fetzer and guitarist Patrick Fugit. They started playing music together when they were 16 and have been friends since the third grade.
"We were only supposed to play one gig, then one gig turned into two and three," said Fetzer, who also plays rhythm guitar. "It happened accidently."
In the beginning, Fugit said, being on stage terrified him.
"It was nerve-wracking at first, but it got exhilarating," he said.
But playing to a live audience is not the most exciting part of being in a band.
"Making the music is the fun part," Fugit said.
Fetzer said his goals for Mushman are to record two CDs, play a lot of music and hopefully go on tour.
"We're not trying to change the world; it's just for the kicks," Fetzer said.
Sean McCarthy, lead singer for Uvada, also discovered his love for music in high school.
"It was either you played sports or played music, and I decided to pick up a guitar," McCarthy said. "The more I got into it, the more passionate I got about it."
He said Uvada is still new and is working hard to get their music out.
"It's the toughest thing I've ever done," McCarthy said. "It's always three steps forward and two steps back."
Before Uvada came together, McCarthy said he had been playing in a lot of different bands.
"I used to be in a three-piece band but there seemed to be not enough musical possibility," he said.
His vision was a five-piece band. With this in mind, he began putting together a CD.
"It started as a spare-time thing," McCarthy said.
He ended up investing all his musical passion into it.
"I put my heart and soul into this disc," McCarthy said.
He worked on the CD for a year and a half and it finally came out a few months ago.
McCarthy is living his musical dream. He is playing in a five-piece band and doing what he can to get their music heard.
"There are so many really good bands in town and no one ever knows about them," McCarthy said. "I want to find a way to have my music reach out to the public. The more people you reach, the more people will come to your shows."
Unlike Mushman and Uvada, The Adonis has been playing music for a year and a half. Shaw has been playing music all his life.
"I think it's just in me," he said.
The Adonis is a hobby for Shaw.
"I used to say if the band started to feel like a job, I'd quit. But it's feeling like a job and I kind of like it," he said.
The music industry is very competitive and there are bands across the nation trying to find ways to sneak in. For Shaw, it's not about getting popular.
"I think we're one of the few bands in Salt Lake that aren't trying to make it big," Shaw said. "We try to follow the KISS theory: Keep It Simple Stupid."
Shaw said he hopes the band can continue to play and write better music. He said it would be fun to go on tour but it's not worth the things they would have to give up.
"Once you make it big you have to sacrifice things to be a big rock star," Shaw said.
He said members of The Adonis have steady jobs and he is working on his career. He received a bachelor's degree in English and plans to go back to school for his master's degree in library science.
Yet Shaw admits there are moments when he wonders what it would be like to play his music for thousands.
"Every so often I'm on stage and I see people mouthing the words to one of my songs. It's an awesome feeling," Shaw said.
Aldous said all of his bands have potential, it all "depends on how determined they are."
"All three bands want to be heard by as many people as they can," he said. "They just want to spread their music."
The groups are different in many ways, but what ties them together is their love for music.
"There's something mystical about music that creates a community with lyrics and sounds," Shaw said.
E-mail: tdemasters@desnews.com