Hollington Drive started about a year ago, when three men with musical talent met at SMU playing for the club soccer team.

The band eventually added a fourth member, a childhood friend of the current members who was asked to join the band because of his talent on bass.

Not long after the band formed, the men all began playing at one of the band member’s apartment.

“Even though the music was good, the neighbors didn’t appreciate it,” senior lead singer David Garcia said.

After a few eviction notices from Amesbury Park apartments, the band was forced to move to a local studio in Dallas.

At Universal Rehearsal studios, the men started writing music and playing. A friend suggested the band should play some shows, and within a couple months it started playing at local bars and events on campus like Mustang Marathon and Mane Event.

“I like how they have such a wide variety of songs. All their songs are real catchy, because they have a good combo of great guitar rifts, good lyrics and great drumming. Plus Ryan’s [Hollington] solos are amazing,” SMU junior Mike Nguyen said.

The band includes Garcia on rhythm guitar, junior Ryan Hollington on lead guitar, alumni Jeremy Orr on drums and UTD senior Cam Urano on bass.

“I think we are group of four good looking guys playing some great music,” Garcia said.

Hollington Drive recorded its first CD, entitled “Beautiful Beginning,” over summer break and released it last semester at its first show.

The band classifies its music as alternative rock/emo, and it compares it to a combination of John Mayer, Maroon 5, 311, Greatness in Tragedy and a little bit of The Starting Line. According to its fans, “California” is the most popular song off its first CD.

“I love the song ‘California.’ I can relate because I’m from there. I never want to leave California because of the ocean and how pretty it is,” SMU junior Meagan McHone said.

Hollington Drive will play this Saturday at Across the Street Bar with special guest Charlie Berry. Berry takes the stage at 10:30 p.m., and Hollington Drive will follow shortly afterwards.

“We want people to listen to us and spread the word about our music to their friends,” Garcia said.

The band will be debuting a lot of new music at the show and plans to have a huge crowd. Garcia says this is going to be the band’s biggest show yet.

He estimates over 100 people will be there to hear Holllington Drive and Charlie Berry play.

Hollington Drive looks forward to its April 28 performance in College Station. It will perform at the Wolf Pan Creek Amphitheater in front of a crowd of 10,000.

“I expect us to go out there and play our best, and if we fail in a blaze of glory then we will always have the beers and hopefully 5,000 girls to keep us company,” Urano said.

The band also has an upcoming show on March 21 at What-Bar for a battle of the bands contest. It takes the stage at 9 p.m. “We have friends on MySpace from all over the United States, and we feel that we have a lot of opportunity to go places in the music industry,” Garcia said.

̢۬For more information on Hollington Drive, visit the band online at www.hollingtondrive.com