Maika Maile, lead vocalist and guitarist for the band There for Tomorrow, said his Tongan culture helped him develop a love for music.
"My dad was Tongan, and he had all this wonderful traditional music playing in the house," said Maile during a phone interview from the road in Ohio. "He was very open-minded, and we had all this other music as well. And it was Metallica's (self-titled) black album that made me want to play guitar."
Still, Maile listened to everyone from Metallica to Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind, to name a few bands.
"If it had a beat, I'd be all over it," said Maile, who began playing the guitar when he was 6. "I've been in bands since I was 13."
There for Tomorrow came about when Maile, guitarist Christian Climer, drummer Christopher Kamrada and bassist Jay Enriquez got together in 2003. A year later they released the group's debut album, "Point of Origin."
"I was only 14 when we recorded that CD," said Maile. "So it's not really representative of us today. The other two releases we have done since are what we're all about."
Those releases — "Pages" (2007) and "There for Tomorrow" (2008) — are extended-play CDs.
"We just signed to a record label (Hopeless Records) and felt it would be better if we slowly introduced ourselves again with an EP, instead of a full-length (album)," said Maile. "We repeated four songs from 'Pages' and redid them on 'There for Tomorrow.' And we are planning to release our full-length (album) in 2009."
One of the surprises of the past few months was the band was nominated for an MTV Music Video Award, said Maile.
"We didn't know what to think," he said. "It came out of nowhere. Someday we'll look back at this and tell ourselves that we really did some good."
Maile said he isn't thinking too much about the future, except that he and his bandmates want to have a long career making music.
"There are so many bands that don't do much after they get signed (to a label)," he said. "And we want to not be one of them."
In the meantime, There for Tomorrow is happy to be on the road, recruiting new fans.
"I'm looking forward to coming to Salt Lake," he said. "I've got extended family there in the Tongan community."
If you go
What: Anberlin, Scary Kids Scaring Kids, There for Tomrrow
Where: Saltair, 12408 W. Salt Air Drive
When: Wednesday, 7 p.m.
How much: $15
Phone: 467-8499, 800-888-8499
Web: www.smithstix.com
E-mail: scott@desnews.com