Between swimming, football, chores, homework and eight-hour weekday shifts at local eateries, it’s hard for some students to find the time to get together with the band and rehearse.

Yet many of them find a way to do it. They record tracks for each other, studiously watch Metallica DVDs and stay up late quietly playing the guitar alone in their bedrooms. Some of them do it for 30 hours a week. Some do it for 10 or 15. Some talk about recording albums. Some discuss going to college to be educated in artist management. A few even set long-term goals, such as earning a spot on the Warped Tour in the next three years or opening for Tool someday.

Even if the goals are hard to reach, it’s not hard to respect their dedication.

One band has come a long way since its humble beginnings on an XBox 360.

“When ‘Rock Band’ came out that one Christmas (2007), it just kind of sparked us,” Central High School junior Alex Williams says with a grin. “That’s actually where I learned to play drums. After that, I picked up my own kit and started playing.”

Williams formed a three-piece with fellow juniors Drew Elder (guitar) and Tyler Coder (bass) called Scarr.

Scarr only existed for one show (The Battle of the Bands at Central in March 2009) before the group added a new member. Junior Kasen Sansonetti joined the band in April and brought some necessary change.

First, he insisted the name be changed to something less typical than Scarr. Over time, the four students agreed on The Letter to Laodicea, Paul’s biblical message to the church of the city of Laodicea that God’s word would find them, no matter how rich or poor.

Second, he added keyboards and vocals to the screamo metal group inspired by the sounds of Trivium, As I Lay Dying and Metallica. Tyler, Drew and Alex say Kasen has made great improvements to the band, but even Kasen admits his performance was shaky at first.

“I was awful,” he says. “I didn’t move at all. I just stood there.”

Now, Kasen is maybe the most dedicated member of the band because he’s the only one who has a job. Between his previous jobs at Pizza Hut and St. Joseph Electronics and his current workplace at Kovac’s, Kasen estimates he has dropped at least $2,000 on the band.

He bought a 12-inch studio monitor (main speaker), Sony Acid Pro recording software, two microphones, a 14-inch drum stand, $100 worth of instrument cables, countless picks, countless guitar strings, countless drum sticks and all the other pre-show goodies. Just to boot, he told Tyler he’d match the amount of money he got for his birthday and put it toward a new bass guitar. Tyler got $300. Thanks to Kasen, he’s getting a new $600 bass.

Although Kasen wouldn’t mind a little additional financial support from his bandmates, he contends that every penny has been money well-spent.

“Once I played our first live show, the band was the reason to cut my fingernails and get up every morning. It became my absolute motivation,” Kasen says.

Drew, Tyler, Alex and Ryan Gregory (the group’s new freshman guitarist) all found a way to get their instruments. Tyler saved up for his first bass and Drew got a great deal on a chipped guitar that would have been about $4,800 in mint condition. Alex’s parents bought his drumset. Ryan has four guitars, two of which he saved for and two that his parents bought.

For the most part, the parents of all these kids fully support their musical endeavors.They attend their son’s shows and enjoy seeing the determination they display. The rock band life is often associated with sex, alcohol and drugs, but Kasen’s father, Mikel Sansonetti, has seen very different results.

“If it weren’t for the band, he’d be out doing who knows what,” he says. “I like the confidence it’s helping him build, and if anything, it encourages him to get his grades up because if he doesn’t get the grades up, he won’t play (because he’s grounded).”

Lisa Goacher, the mother of Central junior and Eastwood’s drummer Jason Goacher, couldn’t agree more. From time to time, the Goachers are happy to host the four-piece band’s rehearsals. And while it gets a little noisy, Lisa says the guys are always very respectful and well-behaved.

“They’re a good bunch of guys and I think the world of them,” Lisa says. “We’d do anything to help support them. We’ve even run sound for them at three shows.”

Eastwood consists of Jason, Central grad Andrew Rivera (guitar/bass), Central junior Brinnin Bolinger (guitar/bass) and Missouri Western freshman Trevor Callaway (vocals).

Like The Letter to Laodicea, Eastwood is also a metal band, but considerably more alternative. Andrew and Jason say that bands like Rush, Incubus, Anberlin and Underoath have had as big an influence on them as hardcore metal acts.

Those influences show in songs like “Maples Bleed,” in which Eastwood features a bluesy bass and fuzzy guitar. And it’s all accompanied by Trevor’s great lyrical imagery.

For Eastwood, the best thing about “Maples Bleed” is that it is a fan favorite. That’s right. Despite only six public performances, many people in the audience of Eastwood’s last two shows were singing along to “Maples Bleed” as they had become familiar with the song on the group’s Myspace page.

“It was crazy. I was just smiling during the set,” Andrew admits. “You got that energy that people know you’re stuff. It’s so cool to see people singing your lyrics. I never thought that I’d see that.”

Naturally, they want to ride that energy and continue to improve and experiment. The problem is finding a time to get together and rehearse.

For example, Jason goes to school and then works until 11 p.m. or midnight a few days during the week at Taco Bell. When he finally gets home, it’s already bedtime.

“It takes up my whole day,” Jason admits. “Not only can I not practice, but I have to cram in homework for school, too.”

Brinnin is a member of the Central swimming team and Trevor and Andrew both work part time.

Andrew says the band only gets together once a week right now and finding a time to practice is a constant struggle of communication.

“Trevor will ask ‘When are we practicing?’ And I’ll be like ‘Hold on, let me contact everyone else.’ And then I have to triangulate it all,” Andrew laughs.

For The Letter to Laodicea, Tyler’s football schedule gave rise to similar problems last fall.

“They were thinking about replacing me, which made me want to step it up some more,” Tyler says. “Every night after football, I’d practice from 6 to 10 o’clock at night.”

Since then, Tyler has managed to juggle football, school and the band a little better, although it has taken away from his sleep time.

“I’m exhausted. I can’t wait ‘til football’s over just so I can relax,” he says.

The one saving grace is that The Fallout, a new all-ages music venue in downtown St. Joseph, has provided high school bands a place to play gigs. Finding shows has been difficult for all bands with underage members as most local music venues are bars, but The Fallout is making it a little easier.

Now the bands just have to do their part and show up. Eastwood performed at the venue last night. Unfortunately, The Letter to Laodicea had to re-schedule — mom’s orders.

“I’d love to book those guys when the drummer isn’t grounded,” laughs Tyson Moran, co-owner of The Fallout.

Lifestyles reporter Shea Conner can be reached at sheaconner@npgco.com