Alec Bukata picked up his bass guitar and strummed a few cords. He wore a bright green cast on his left hand, immobilizing two of his fingers. He broke his pinky playing basketball two weeks ago, and in that short amount of time, he’s found a way to play guitar with his remaining digits.

“Alec picked up the bass and started playing last May,” said Terry Ryan, the father of Bukata’s band mate, guitarist Drew Ryan. “He learned how to play in two months. Now, in two weeks, he’s relearned the songs playing with the fingers he has. That’s pretty impressive.”

Bukata and Drew Ryan, along with drummer Cole Rau and singer Kierah Taylor, make up the band “I for Eye.” The group will compete against two others this Saturday during the Battle of the Bands competition at the Gig Harbor Boys & Girls Club.

They practiced last Sunday afternoon in Rau’s “rat-g,” the room above the garage. The garage is a detached building located a considerable jump away from the main house.

“When you have drums, it’s a good idea to have a place away from the house,” Rau’s mother Tina said.

The three high-school freshman boys started to form “I for Eye” last summer and were looking for a singer. With Terry’s help, they found Taylor, a high school junior.

“I started calling around and found Kierah’s voice coach,” Terry said. “I asked if she was interested in singing in a band.”

Since then, the band has performed in 12 shows at the Puyallup Fair and at a private party at Moon Dogs Too in Port Orchard. They are scheduled to play at the Charleston on March 9 in Bremerton.

Taylor helps the band get gigs through her connections on the Kitsap peninsula, and their parents pitch in now and then. Tina found out about the Battle of the Bands online.

Taylor recalled the band’s first show at the fair.

“The first day was completely awful,” she said. “I’m pretty comfortable on stage, but I wasn’t then. I still get a little nervous, but the more people there are in the crowd, the less nervous I am. Small crowds are awkward.”

Bukata agreed.

“If it’s a big crowd, at least you’re going to get a reaction from some of it,” he said.

The band plays alternative music and sometimes writes its own songs. The new ones usually are a group effort created during practice.

“We all collaborate on the songs,” Taylor said. “Drew will start playing something, then Alec will say, ‘Let’s do this,’ and Cole will say, ‘Let’s do this.’ It’s fun.”

If the band wins Saturday’s competition, it will get 10 hours of free recording studio time at Pacific Recording Studio.

All the band members said that, even if they don’t become full-time musicians, music will continue to be a part of their lives.

“Hopefully we’ll play a lot more shows and get recognized,” Drew Ryan said. “And become known in the music scene.”

Rau said music is always something to do, regardless of whether it becomes a full-blown career.

Tina Rau appreciates that music gives the students an outlet and a chance to express their creativity.

“This is their football,” she said. “This is their soccer.”

Competition Saturday

The Battle of the Bands will take place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at the Boys & Girls Club, 8502 Skansie Ave. in Gig Harbor. Admission is $5. For more information, call 253-502-4670 or visit www.bgcsps.org/cheney.