Friday nights, for many mustangs, involve football or basketball games, time with friends, or a chance to relax after a long school week. However, for senior Max Indiveri, Friday nights provide an opportunity to share his passion with an eager crowd.

Indiveri started playing guitar at age 7 and often played in front of crowds with his former band, Joyride. He recently joined a new group with just two weeks to prepare for the Battle of the Bands at The Roxy, a music venue in Shawnee Mission.

Quickly putting together a show, the group known as The Whips, prepared their set for the night of the competition, Aug. 17.

“The goal is we practice so much that songs become kind of second nature to us,” Indiveri said. “That way, when you get into the performance, it’s just like second nature and you don’t even think about it, which means you can take that time to focus on just enjoying the moment. “

When the time came, throughout the band’s set, Indiveri took in the breathtaking scene of the crowd and embraced the very moment he practiced for.

“[The Roxy] was stacked with like hundreds of people — standing room only — and after every song we played it was just deafening,” Indiveri said. “Thriving off the energy of the crowd and having them kind of carry you through the performance is a rush of adrenaline”

The Whips did not win the whole the competition, but Indiveri’s love of performing with his band pushes him forward and encourages him to continue working toward his personal goals in music.

“I’ve been working on playing or performing in places alone, by myself, just because I enjoy the kind of creative freedom that comes with it,” Indiveri said. “I think I will end up taking a minor in music or composition or at least just keep working at creating stuff for myself or with a band.”

Music, which has become a large part of his life, is more than just scales and memorization to Indiveri, but a chance to connect with others and share his passion.

“A lot of people get kind of deterred by how onerous it is to learn all these mountains of scales,” Indiveri said. “But, as long you can pop out an acoustic guitar at a party and sing Wonderwall to impress your friends you’re good. Because playing it is not the pay-off, playing it in front of people is. “

As he continues to practice with The Whips and prepare for upcoming events, Indiveri does not see a fastly approaching end to his music career.

“I don’t plan on quitting anytime soon,” Indiveri said. “It’s just kind of become an integral part of my life.”