Pulsing bass guitar shakes the room, and incense is burning in the background. A flying high-heel shoe hits the drummer in the head.

No, this isn’t some crazy club with a bad band  performing, it is The Threds, a student band, rehearsing at sophomore Sammy Sheff’s house in Westwood.

With senior Adam Genie on bass guitar,  sophomore Danny Silberstein as lead guitarist and vocalist, and Sammy on the drums, The Threds have produced 13 alternative rock songs since last year.

“I heard them play, and I was like wow, you guys have a lot of potential, you’re gonna be really good!” says Max Lipner, an enthusiastic fan.

“And I don’t even care — not one bit at all,” goes the band’s self-proclaimed favorite song, “Leave my Mind.” A combination of bass chords with fast-paced drums supplements the lead guitar. Rough vocals and angst-infused lyrics are reminiscent of Linkin Park or the Killers.

In a different vein from “Leave my Mind,” the mellow “Tell me What you Want” blends the steady strumming of the bass with strokes of high hat percussion and lyrics about girls. The lyric “Sometimes I fear I won’t be enough” clearly captures teenage insecurities regarding love.

The way the Threds create their music is very similar to that of many other bands. Danny, the lead singer, writes the lyrics, and each member of the band then writes music for his own instrument. After this is all written out, the members of the band meet and gracefully combine their individual work into one song.

The band first formed when Danny and Sammy were only in sixth grade. At that point, they had drums, guitar and vocals. When they got to high school, they found Adam.

“He was the only bass player that was actually good that we could find at school,” says Danny. “We’ve actually always been looking for a bass player, so last year we all decided to join together.”

The group records mp3s to send to their friends and fans, but they have never performed live. They make much of their music available on Myspace, and they also invite friends to their rehearsals.

“Every Friday I would take the bus with them to Westwood, because they are legit amazing!” said Jennifer Pajounia, a former Shalhevet student who is now a junior at Pacific Hills High School.

Sophomore Jojo Fallas listens to the band’s Mp3s.

“The Threds really know how to rock hard,” JoJo said. “I love their music and I sing their songs constantly throughout the day.”

Right now the group is trying to complete enough songs for an album.

“Our goal is to hopefully soon finish recording our album and to get an agent to find us a producer so that we can produce our music.” says Sammy,  “In three years, we would like to be in front of 30,000 fans rocking the stage!”

Like any other band, The Threds has its ups and downs. Sometimes the members get into fights with each other, and even with each other’s parents.

At one hectic band practice at Sammy’s house, the band decided to light some incense, even though they knew from past experiences that Sammy’s mom hates it.

“She came in, she smelled the incense, and then she literally took off her shoe and threw it at Sammy, and ran out of the room — it was pretty intense,” says Adam.

“Yeah, it was one of our intense moments,” agreed Danny.

Sammy said his mother, Mrs. Rachel Sheff, is “the perfect band mom,” letting them use the garage and also driving the boys to a recording studio in Hollywood to record whenever they need it.

But she doesn’t like incense.

“I didn’t want a fire in the garage, but it’s also because I hate the smell!” Mrs. Sheff told *The Boiling Point.* “They’re actually pretty good, so I don’t mind [their rehearsals].”

There are also low moments involving just the musicians.

“The worst part about having a band is when we fight a lot about how we want our songs to sound,” said Sammy. “Then Danny starts getting upset and I throw drumsticks at him. And then Adam gets pissed off, but then in the end it’s okay.”

Eventually they form music that everyone is happy with.

“The best part of being in a band is making good music — just writing a whole song together and seeing how it works,” said Adam Genie.

Danny explains why they love being in a band: “We love each other. We’re doing this because we love each other.”

Max Lipner says that’s part of why he shows up at nearly all of their practices.

“I love seeing this band come together and make some really really great music,” Max said. “It’s really nice to see how friends can put their minds together.”