By PAT NEWMAN
Staff Writer

Whippersnapper, Peachtree City's homegrown punk band, will perform Friday night starting around 9:30 p.m. at Jitterbuggers.

The five-member group is awaiting the release Oct. 26 of its second CD, “The Long Walk,” which they claim is “definitely different” from their first album. Copies of the CD will be available for the first time Friday night at the pre-release show.

“The first one was a little more derivative of what other people were doing... it wasn't very developed, it wasn't very mature,” said lyricist and lead singer Andy Munn. “We tried to do something a little different on this record... the last one was kind of the West Coast style and since we're not from there, we started thinking how we could get our own individual sound,” Munn said. Elaborating on the new release, he continued ”There's a lot more dynamics, it's stronger melodically; it's not just fast.”

Drummer Pat Kerr added that the new CD saves some of the flavors of the first album with some different beats, a taste of jazz and some four-part vocal harmonies. “We've taken it to the next step,” Kerr said.

Prior to recording its new album, the band holed up in a lakeside cabin outside Lawrence, Kans., where members spent five weeks writing songs and experiencing an array of twists and turns in their search to find their musical selves. All agreed it was the most fun they have had in a long time.

In the year and a half since their first album debuted, Whippersnapper has been touring, playing and trying to improve their name recognition. “The potential for money is getting better,” Munn said. Their outlook is definitely bright with the release of “The Long Walk,” which they anticipate will be played at college and university-run radio stations.

“We recorded it in Colorado, Fort Collins, at the Blasting Room. That's what our last trip was all about,” reported Jason Joseph, guitarist. It's on the Lobster Records label, the same as their debut label. The public's reaction to the band's new release will have a lot of impact on the course of the future, the group concedes.

One song, entitled “Equations,” is the one cut on the CD that band members believe has a good chance for air play. “It's probably one of the better radio-type songs,” Joseph said.

Whippersnapper plans to tour as much as possible in the next few months, try to get back to Europe and into Canada. “We're definitely going to be touring the country a lot and then there's lots of things in the works,” Munn said.

The band's name recognition and fan base is growing steadily, and the members are pleased that more and more punk music buffs have heard abut them. “We're still pretty fresh. We've actually only been out there for a little over one and half years,” Kerr admitted. He noted that many of the more successful groups are in their mid-20s, while Whippersnapper members are just turning 21.

In addition to Munn, Kerr and Joseph, who have been jamming together since their days at J.C. Booth Middle School, there is Andy Belote on bass and Mike Fink on guitar.

Whippersnapper will be at Jitterbuggers, on Tivoli Circle on Peachtree City, Friday night. The opening band, starting around 8:30 p.m., is Better Off Worse. Admission is $7 for nonmembers.

For information about Whippersnapper, log onto their website at www.windy.com/whippersnapper.

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