While some bands may rely on album sales to support their career, one band thrives by letting the fans experience the music in person.

The members of Hey Mercedes say playing in front of their fans is the center of their career. The Milwaukee-based band will play at Gabe’s Oasis in Iowa City Saturday.

Three members of the band, Todd Bell, Robert Nanna and Damon Atkinson, played together before Hey Mercedes formed in the band “Braid.” Atkinson, the band’s drummer, says although Braid broke up in 1999, the three of them did not want to stop playing.

“We still wanted to play together, so we formed Hey Mercedes,” he says. “We just added a new guitarist [Michael Shumaker].”

Atkinson says there is a misconception of the band name’s origin. Fans mistake the name coming from a character in a popular Playstation 2 video game, “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.” He says the band formed years before the game came out.

“It’s either pure coincidence, or I’ve heard the game’s creators might be fans,” Atkinson says.

The way they actually chose their name is much less interesting than the rumors, he says.

“We really needed a band name for recognition,” he says. “We created a list of names, and Hey Mercedes was chosen on a whim.”

Although the band’s name may have been chosen hastily, the members of Hey Mercedes put time and effort into each song they create.

Singer and guitarist Robert Nanna says each member of the band takes the music very seriously. He says it is vital for any band to strongly believe in its sound to survive in the music business.

“If we didn’t take our music seriously, we would probably end up getting office jobs,” he says.

Each member of the group understands how important the music is, Nanna says. One reason the band works so well is because everyone understands and supports each other.

“It took nearly a decade before we found a group of people we can write and feel comfortable around,” Nanna says.

Although the band takes its music seriously, Nanna says the group always has a fun time with their fans.

“Part of the reason we love our jobs is because we want to have fun,” he says.

As serious as the music may be to the members of Hey Mercedes, they’re not above a few extra perks from fans.

Nanna says they met a fan who worked in a zoo in Chicago. The fan gave them an up-close tour and let the band members feed bagels to rhinos and giraffes.

“That’s something we never could have done without being in a band,” he says.

While the band earns certain benefits, Nanna says the best part is going on tour and simply meeting new people in different places, such as Iowa.

Playing in Iowa was an easy choice to make for Hey Mercedes, Atkinson says.

“After touring out west, it’s right on our way home,” Atkinson says. “It’s got perfect geographic location.”

“[Iowa City’s] a cool college town,” Nanna adds. “There are a lot of kids there with good taste.”

Their goal for playing in Iowa City is the goal they set each time they play a show, Atkinson says.

“We hope to rock the place harder than we have ever done before,” he says.

Even though Hey Mercedes is focused on playing its next show, the members always look ahead for the future of their band.

“I hope we can continue to see our fan base grow,” Atkinson says. “It all comes down to making good records and making sure they get out to the right people.”