Their name, "One Wicked Dream," sums up the band's ambition, says lead guitarist John Hash, 20.

"It just describes the mission. Wicked as in, 'That's some kind of dream you've got there. It's gonna take a lot of effort. Good luck'."

Photo by Michael Donahue

One Wicked Dream is (from left) John Hash, Eric Zhu, Dave Hash and Carlos Carrasco.

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Says lead singer/rhythm guitarist and lyricist Carlos Carrasco, 22: "People just don't feel safe enough following their heart these days."

The band -- which also includes bass player Eric Zhu, 18, and Hash's brother, drummer Dave Hash, 16 -- is John's dream team. "These guys can play a soft song; they can make you feel something," John says. "Then they can stomp your head in.

"I've always identified my personal sound as a mix of progressive -- as in sweeping compositions that require a lot of attention and technical knowledge and what not -- and then dumb punk and metal grunge songs. The perfect combination -- that's what I'm looking for."

Dave was in other bands, but he and John were never in the same band until One Wicked Dream. "I've been kind of writing off of him for years," John says. "Just songs that I come up with a lot of times are very influenced by what he's playing at the time."

Dave chose guitar lessons over piano lessons three years ago. "I had been listening to my dad's classic rock CDs my whole life and I wanted to be able to do that," he says. "I didn't want to be able to play Mozart; I wanted to be able to hear what Eddie Van Halen was doing and do that."

Carrasco originally wanted to be a soccer player. "I started at 5," he says. "I went all the way two years into college."

Another one of his goals was to be a military fighter pilot, says Carrasco, who went to the US Air Force Academy for a year.

He decided singing, which he always did around the house, was his one wicked dream. "I finally got the chance to try and really know what it feels like and was like, 'I want to live on a stage.'"

Listen Up spotlights area performers. Michael Donahue can be reached at 529-2797. To see a video of this band, go to AppealTV on gomemphis.com.

One Wicked Dream

Performs at the Gorilla Productions Battle of the Bands, which begins at 4 p.m. Sunday at the New Daisy Theatre, 330 Beale. Tickets: $8 in advance and $10 day of the show. Call 525-8981