Some people don't get the meaning of Never Forgotten's name.

They say things like, "I forgot who this band is," and "What's the name of your band again?"

Photo by Michael Donahue

"We really try to strive and let people see what God did for us,'' says Ryan Stephens (middle) with Nick Hillyar, Josh Newman, Matt Waddell and Brandon Jones.

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Explaining the actual meaning, the metal band's lead singer Ryan Stephens, 17, said, "We really try to strive and let people see what God did for us. We want to make sure the sacrifice that was made for us so we could be here today will never be forgotten."

Although their songs deal with Christian themes, the band members, guitarist Nick Hillyar, 17; drummer Matt Waddell, 18; guitarist/vocalist Josh Newman, 16; and bass player Brandon Jones, 16, don't call themselves a Christian band.

"We say we're followers of Christ just because there's a lot of bands that say they're Christians and then off the stage they're completely different," Stephens said.

The band's original name was Asleep at the Wheel. "That's an old country band. That's not gonna work. So we changed the name."

For its first gig, a battle of the bands at the New Daisy Theatre, the group wrote five songs in a month and a half.

Onstage moves at that first show didn't always work.

"Like try to head bang and it would just feel awkward 'cause we'd never done it before," Stephens said. "The second day after our first show I woke up and I could not move my head. My neck was so sore."

But, he added, "We got invited to come back and play the finals."

Never Forgotten's first original was "Walking on Water," which is about "being done with people saying one thing and then acting a different way."

One of their newest songs, "Humpty Dumpty Makes a Comeback," is about "not being ashamed of proclaiming Christianity and what other people say."

Generally, the band has gotten a positive response to its music.

"In between some of our songs, I talked about what we were up there for," Stephens said.

"We touch people at the shows. They'll have this empty space and they're just trying to fill it with it with alcohol, drugs and sex. We just try to give them the stuff that'll really fill (them) up for good instead of just the temporary stuff."

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

Never Forgotten

Pop Fest 2. Doors open 2 p.m. Saturday at Singleton Community Center, 7266 Third Road in Bartlett. Cover: $10. Call 385-5593.