Above at and front, With Grace We Fall prepares for Fall Fest. Photos by Clifford Oto / 209Vibe.

It took five months for With Grace We Fall to get serious.

At first, the band was a collection of friends who’d kick back and play for fun. Members drifted in and out of the loose-knit Galt collective.

Then, about a year ago, the lineup clicked, along with the band’s sound.

“Everyone had their own influences, it all came together,” said drummer Cody Dettman, 18. Keyboardist Micah Stevenson, 18, added, “We decided to go at it harder.”

Today With Grace We Fall is earning a reputation as one of the hardest-working and most professional young bands in the area. It will bring that attitude to the stage when it performs at Fall Fest on Saturday, the second day of the festival.

The event starts at 2 p.m. Oct. 3 and 11 a.m. Oct. 4 at the One-Eighty, 17 W. Lockeford St., Lodi. Tickets are $15, while two-day passes are $20. Both can be purchased at MySpace.com/oneeightymusic.

Stevenson said With Grace We Fall hopes its hard work will eventually pay off with a record deal.

The band seems to have the right musical formula for success. It blends two of the area’s most popular musical genres: Screamo and electronic music.

That creates a sound that both soars and shreds. On songs like “Wolly the Mammoth,” the voice of singer Matt Miller cascades high over the melody before crashing into a Dettman-led breakdown with bassist James Garner.

“Special Beam Cannon,” meanwhile, opens with a Stevenson synth progression that explodes into the guitars of John Oliva and Doug Sheldon.

“We try to have a more original sound,” Dettman said.

And while With Grace We Fall hopes that sound takes them far, they still face many of the same challenges as other local bands. Most of their members are in high school, which prevents them from touring.

They also have to find the time and the money to record. Dettman said the band is saving so it can release an EP.

“We have a lot of new material we want to put out there,” he said.

But the band members said they understand that success will take time and commitment.

“We’re looking in the long run, we’re not rushing anything,” Stevenson said. “If it pays off, it will be way worth it.”

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