Wando High School students make a lot of noise as The Whisperjets

Forget all the John Hughes cliches about high school; the members of local quintet The Whisperjets are wise beyond their years.

The band, composed of Wando High School seniors Corey Bargeloh on guitar and vocals, Clay White on bass, Josh Hoover on percussion, Ben Donner on trumpet and Daniel Imholz on trombone, professes a polished and professional horn-infused, folk-rock sound.

Despite the young age of band members, the group is already a seasoned pro on the Lowcountry scene. The guys have been performing together since January 2007, frequently showcased at venues such as Awendaw Green and the Village Tavern. They have released one EP thus far, "Midnight Shift," which features collaborations with Mark Bryan of Hootie and the Blowfish, Danielle Howle, Sadler Vaden of Leslie and violinist Catherine Dudley.

Along with Howle, Corey Webb and Travis Allison, the band will be featured in the Awendaw Green Live Music Showcase at Monster Music on Saturday.

Preview caught up with White and asked a few questions.

Q: What's with the name?

A: My dad actually suggested it. He's a dentist. A whisperjet is a dental tool. I think it's one of those things that shoots water and air in your mouth. But we've stripped it of its dental meaning.

Q: What artists influence your sound?

A: I listen to rock, classical, jazz, all kinds of music, so all of that goes into our songs. We cover a band called Neutral Milk Hotel a lot as well as songs by Tally Hall. The first song we ever recorded was a cover of "Chicago" by Sufjan Stevens. Also, one of my favorite bands is Delta Spirit.

Q: As teenagers, what's your stance on Charleston's music scene?

A: All the bands are really cool, though we did have one terrible experience. The first time we played at a bar downtown, they were double-booked. The band that we unfortunately got stuck with tried to take advantage of us and intimidate us out of performing. But other than that, everyone is super cool.

Q: Would you say that learning your S.A.T. words has helped with the songwriting process?

A: I'm sure they have. Actually, all of us, except for Josh, take Latin at school. For class we have to memorize the first lines of "The Aeneid." There's a tape that we listen to that helps us learn it. We call it "The Old Lady," because an old lady is speaking on it. At the beginning of the title song from our EP, we included a sample of the old lady introducing the tape. At the end, she says, "Well that's nice, but it doesn't sound much like Latin poetry."

Q: Your father also owns Awendaw Green. Does that come in handy?

A: We kind of got that all started. It was originally just a house that my dad bought with some of his friends. When the band first got together, we bought some recording equipment and started recording out there. We kept getting more stuff and the studio kept evolving, and now it is what it is.