Sonic Youth

No air guitarists here. The prodigies who rock Jack’s world are real musicians with no professional acting experience. A look at the standouts. — Missy Schwartz

Kevin Clark 14, drummer REAL-LIFE SOR ”I’ve been playing since I was 3. I had a nickname: Bam Bam.” HOW HE GOT THE PART ”I saw an ad [that] said, ‘Looking for 9-to 11-year-old drummers.’ I was 13, so I didn’t want to go, but then my mom convinced me.” FAVORITE SOR MOMENT ”Rockin’ out in front of all those fans.”

Joey Gaydos Jr. 12, guitarist REAL-LIFE SOR ”I’ve been listening to Hendrix and Zeppelin since I was 3.” HOW HE GOT THE PART ”Paramount saw a tape of me playing at this music camp.” FAVORITE SOR MOMENT ”When we play AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top.’ None of that ‘melt your face off’ stuff was planned.”

Maryam Hassan 10, backup singer REAL-LIFE SOR ”I’ve wanted to be a singer since I was little. I like Aaliyah and Aretha.” HOW SHE GOT THE PART ”One of my brother’s friends found out about the auditions. I said, ‘Okay, just see what happens.”’ FAVORITE SOR MOMENT ”When Jack sings and kicks down tables and stuff.”

Robert Tsai 13, keyboardist REAL-LIFE SOR ”I always listened to classical music.” HOW HE GOT THE PART ”A person from [the NPR program he’d performed on] phoned me. I didn’t want to go. [My parents] thought it would be a good experience for me.” FAVORITE SOR MOMENT ”Battle of the Bands. It was very exciting.”