Three miles south of the ISU campus on Elwood Drive, hidden between the fields and farmhouses, stands a group of warehouses and silos not much different from any other Iowa farm.

However, inside one of these warehouses is an Ames band practicing into the night for its return to stage.

The rock and punk band 2nd Best will be playing at Bali Satay House, 2424 Lincoln Way, Friday night and at Nexus Effect, 314 3rd Ave. SE in Cedar Rapids, on Saturday night, where it will open for Number One Fan.

The four members of the band — Paul Friemel, senior in graphic design, T.J. Mapes, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication and a Daily correspondent, Cameron Houseman, senior in communication studies, and David Moore, sophomore in management information systems — are not all original members. Since the band’s conception six years ago, the band has started over a handful of times, says Friemel, the band’s bassist.

“We’ve had at least seven or eight singers,” he says. “Every time we get a new singer, we sound different.”

Last semester, the band was put on hiatus while Friemel studied in Rome. Mapes, the band’s drummer, used the time to adjust to his new school.

“It was my first semester at Iowa State, so I focused on schoolwork,” he says.

“I still wrote music, but didn’t really play that much,” he says.

When Friemel returned from Rome, he and Mapes started up the band again, recruiting Houseman and Moore to play guitar.

“As far as bands starting out, we have really clicked,” Moore says. “Compared to other bands I’ve been in, our sound is coming along quick.”

Houseman, a friend of the band since high school, has only been playing guitar for about a year and a half, and has never performed with a serious band before.

He says the pressure he feels for the concerts is only making him work harder on his music.

“I can deal with the nerves,” he says. “It’s probably better [for my performance] than not being nervous.”

Another change in the band comes from the members’ close proximity.

“In the past, I lived in Ames and [Mapes and former band members] lived in the Quad Cities,” he says. “We still had shows every weekend and we knew what to expect.”

For the first time in the band’s recent history, all members are living in the same town, allowing the band to practice on a normal routine. Friemel says the opportunity to practice more will help get the band back on the right track.

“[Starting up again has] been difficult and very trying,” he says. “We are really struggling right now compared to times in the past.”

Although the band is focusing on the show in Cedar Rapids, the show in Ames is still considered important for judging its performance.

“It will show us what we need to work on,” Friemel says. “Playing Cedar Rapids will show we’re still kicking, and hopefully turn a few heads.”

Friemel says getting back onstage is vital for the band to survive past this semester. Although they have no plans on breaking up when Friemel graduates in May, the members agree the pressure is building to find regular jobs.

The band members say one of their biggest goals is to get signed to a label so they can continue to play after graduating and not needing to balance a day job.

“People aren’t going to keep listening to some band in a bar,” Mapes says. “That’s why we’re working so hard, because we feel time is running out.”

Friemel says the best way to get their name across— and sign with a label— is to keep doing live shows.

“This is our best shot because we’re all together,” he says. “We know how to book shows in Iowa and on a larger scale. If you do that enough, people start recognizing you.”

Free MP3 Download: “Pandora”