Paul Conte, Jake Adams and Cyrus Dworsky go way back. Way back. Like, they had nap time together. They made hamburgers out of Play-Doh. We’re talking “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” old school.

“We all went to preschool together,” said Conte, guitarist and co-vocalist for the Deer Isle-based band Pattycake 600. “Now we all just graduated high school. We’ve definitely been friends for a long time.”

Now that’s an ideal basis for a band – a friendship that stretches back to those really formative years. Conte, Adams and Dworsky, all 18 now, started playing music together in sixth grade. They weren’t Pattycake 600 at that point, though. They were just a bunch of 11-year-old kids playing cover songs in a garage.

“It was pretty much just three-chord jams. Green Day covers and stuff,” said Adams, who plays drums. “But there’s only so many times you can play ‘Louie Louie’ before it gets old.”

By the time they were 13, the trio had begun writing songs, and in eighth grade and ninth grade released two full-length albums. Two full-length albums? Most bands are lucky if they get to release an EP before they self-destruct!

“We recorded them with Kevin Mania, the music teacher at the Blue Hill Consolidated School,” said Conte. “We just wrote a lot of songs all the time. It was a lot of fun.”

Conte and Adams both come from extremely musical backgrounds, which explains the prolific rate at which they made music at such a young age. Conte’s father teaches music in Deer Isle, while Adams’ dad, Jim, plays double bass in the Bangor Symphony Orchestra. Fertile ground for budding musicians.

A third album wasn’t recorded until last year – and in those intervening years, Conte, Adams and Dworsky had a lot of time to mature, both musically and personally. Adams delved further into punk rock; Conte discovered the wonders of indie rock, folk and weirder stuff, like Sufjan Stevens, Tom Waits and M. Ward. And Dworsky got into reggae and hip-hop.

Sounds like a recipe for some creative differences. And yet, the three members of Pattycake 600 managed to blend all their influences into one fun sound. Adams anchors the band, with his rapid fire, punk-influenced drumming, while Dworsky busts out syncopated, funky reggae bass. And Conte gets to indulge his artistic side, orchestrating three-part harmony for the three of them. It ends up sounding like a cross between Sublime and Paul Simon. Or maybe the Talking Heads and Crosby, Stills and Nash. Sounds odd, but trust me, it works.

“We’ve definitely grown from our roots,” said Adams. “We’ve moved from genre to genre pretty quickly. I think we’ve lightened up. We’re a lot more eloquent. We’ve become much more aware of music, and I think that’s reflected in our songs. There’s so much stuff out there. It’s amazing.”

Adams and Conte are heading off to college in September, and Dworsky intends to work on a sailboat – but all three plan to keep the band together. And that shouldn’t be too hard: a band based on lifelong friendship is one that will always find time to play together. Even if Conte’s going to college in Ohio, and Adams is headed off to Bates College in Lewiston.

And before they leave the area, they’ve got a really big show to look forward to. They’ll open Day Two of the Shangri-La Music and Arts Festival, set for Aug. 1-3 at the Blue Hill Fairgrounds. Not bad for three guys who started out playing “Louie, Louie” on repeat for most of sixth grade.

“Oh man, we’re so excited,” said Adams. “It’s the biggest show we’ve ever played. It’s going to be a great way to end the summer, before we take off.”

For more information, visit www.myspace.com/pattycake600.

eburnham@bangordailynews.net

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