For most high school bands, stardom is playing at the school talent show and getting the most applause. For Coppell band Amber Open Skies, however, stardom is waiting in California – and just might be in its grasp.

Amber Open Skies, formerly The Afterparty, placed as one of the top 50 high school bands in the nation in the SchoolJam USA 2009 Battle of the Bands contest. As a semi-finalist, the band can advance to finals if it is voted as one of the top two bands in the southwestern region on the contest website. Anyone can vote on the contest website every 24 hours after registering as a voter. Up until Nov. 30, Amber Open Skies stood in the number two slot, surpassed only by the band Jaci and Those Guys. However, they have recently fallen to fourth place under Aftermath, Jaci and Those Guys and Carson Brock with Powerhouse.

“We don’t really get nervous about performing anymore,” guitarist and vocalist junior Daniel Moomau said. “The only thing we are nervous about is just placing in the top two.”

If voted into the finals, the bands will travel to Anaheim, Calif. to perform live and be judged as a possible winner. The top ten bands automatically get prizes, but the grand prize includes $750 for the band, $5000 for the band members’ school music program and an all-expenses-paid trip to Germany to perform, as well as record label attention.

“We are getting kind of antsy about it,” lead vocals and guitarist junior Chris Teel said. “We have to get ready, so we have been practicing a lot. It would be kind of a big deal to get to California and play.”

SchoolJam began in Germany by MusikMedia Germany as a way to promote popular rock bands throughout German junior high and high schools and has become one of the country’s most well-known annual music events. The idea spread to the United States under the influence of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) and the National Association for Music Education (MENC). However, if not for some outside help, Amber Open Skies might never have found out about it.

“My mom actually told me about [the contest],” Moomau said. “We entered in a couple of our songs thinking, ‘Why not? We don’t have anything to lose.’ We weren’t really expecting to make top 50, so when we did, we were really excited and we got on board with it.”

The band submitted three of their recorded songs, “Volatile”, “Speak” and “Haptic” to demonstrate to voters the band’s overall feel and musical style in the contest. The band is comprised of four students of Coppell High School: Teel, drummer and back-up vocalist junior Tyler Murray, Moomau and bass guitarist Ryan Williams. Teel writes most of the lyrics for the songs, though collaboration is a big part of the music-making process for the members. Though the bands draw influences from other big-name bands such as Relient K, Four Year Strong, Tokyo Police Club and Death Cab for Cutie, the group creates a unique band sound full of clever lyrics and unexpected, punk-infused guitar patterns.

“[Our songs] are post-punk rock,” Williams said. “We are kind of an indie band, but with a punk feel. It’s kind of hard to describe.”

Amber Open Skies will be performing live at the Palladium Ballroom on Dec. 5 – the day voting closes – to end the contest off with a bang. Also coming up for the band is an album release, expected in early January 2010. Win or lose, music will always be the focus of the band and its members.

“I think it would be sweet if we made it to California,” Williams said. “I’m pretty psyched about it.”