Photo by Michael Donahue

Adaje, (from left) Sameer Shirazee, Zohayr Shirazee and Wesley Williams.

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Their band name — Adaje (pronounced A-dah-jay) — is a mispronunciation of “attache,” said bassist/singer Wesley Williams, 19.

His floor manager at J. C. Penney pronounced the word with a “d,” Williams said.

They originally were “Damsel in Disgust” until they went in to record their first EP, said drummer/singer Sameer Shirazee, 14. “We were like, ‘We cannot put out an EP with that name.’ We sat there for about 30 minutes. The first (name) after that was ‘Group-E.’”

They then changed to “Theory of Alana.” “We had a friend named ‘Alana,’’’ said Sameer’s brother, guitarist/vocalist Zohayr Shirazee, 19. “Of course, she was our biggest fan the week we had that name. The minute we changed it she was like, ‘Who are you guys?’ ”

They performed as “Adaje” at The New Daisy, their first show. “We did stuff like a progressive/crazy spastic style,” Zohayr said.

“We had those six people we knew sit there,” said Sameer, who played piano and drums, as well as guitar.

Zohayr met Williams in the ninth grade at Bolton High School. “Freshman (year) we sat with the loners. He’d be wearing the Tripp pants every day. Bell bottoms. Gothic looking things. At the time when I saw him I was like, ‘Those are the coolest pants I’ve ever seen.’”

Williams, who also played guitar, went on to run track and wrestle. “He was the big man on campus in high school and I was the loser who would go to school and just come right home afterwards,” Zohayr said.

Zohayr began writing songs when he started the band. “I was really open with everyone about my personal stuff, which is really annoying now that I think about it.”

Describing his first song, “Violence is So Necessary,” Zohayr said, “Angst. And just more and more angst. It was about my best friend. We both liked the same chick, but he got her. So, I wrote a song about him.

“Lately, I’ve been writing more about what’s going on with the world. Not what we should do, but how it’s affecting me.”

“The Political Views . . .” is “talking about how disgusting a single human being can be. How low that person can possibly go before realizing, ‘Hey, I’m a screw up.’ ”

Adaje performs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Singleton Community Center, 7266 Third Road in Bartlett. Cover: $7.To see a video of this band, go to gomemphis.com and click on music.

Listen Up spotlights area performers. Michael Donahue can be reached at 529-2797.