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Sam attends Olney Elementary School, Shilo attends Summit Hall Elementary School in Gaithersburg and the others attend Rosa Parks Middle School in Olney.

The band formed almost two years ago when best friends Kate, Cole and Kristen were students at Olney Elementary. One day while riding the school bus, they decided to form a band to perform at the school carnival and decided immediately to name it Crash because they thought that sounded like a cool name.

They had a gig and they had a name for the band, but what they did not have was experience — none of the youngsters had ever taken a single music lesson.

Their supportive parents enrolled them in guitar and bass lessons and a band boot camp at Rocketeria, a music store in Olney.

Kristen’s dad, Mark Lauda, recalled his daughter randomly stating that she wanted an electric guitar for her birthday.

‘‘We rented a guitar at first and she just took off, and we haven’t looked back,” he said.

The trio soon learned they were going to need a few additional members.

They recruited Cole’s brother Sam to be the drummer, although he did not know how to play the drums.

They needed a vocalist, so they asked their school music teacher, Debra Newhall, who was the best singer in the school, and she suggested Ameerat.

When they wanted to add another song to their set list, they found they needed a backup singer. Dave Peers, the owner of Rocketeria, suggested his daughter, Shilo.

The six young musicians learned to play their instruments and began rehearsing for the school carnival.

Eve Margol, mother of Sam and Cole, was a little apprehensive at first. Her husband, Bill, plays the guitar, but he did not know anything about the other instruments or starting a band.

The Margols cleared a corner in the basement of their Olney home and he began working with the youngsters, with everyone learning as they went along.

‘‘I called the woman in charge of the carnival and told her that I could not let these kids fail,” she said. ‘‘She said we had seven months to practice.”

The practice and hard work paid off, and once they saw how serious the youngsters were, all the parents jumped on board. Eve became the ‘‘momager,” their creative title for manager, Bill became the music director, and other parents helped with obtaining equipment, designing and printing posters, and serving as the roadies.

The first gig was a success, although the band members only knew two songs and played them over and over.

‘‘Everyone told us we were really good,” Ameerat said. ‘‘It was fun.”

‘‘It was kind of crazy,” Cole added. ‘‘We’ve got lots of fans.”

Since that first show in March of last year, the band has performed at birthday and graduation parties, Olney Elementary School, Maryvale Elementary School in Rockville, Rosa Parks Middle School, the Mr. & Mrs. Olney Competition in May, The Olney Tavern, the Olney Farmer’s Market, Norbeck Country Club and at other events.

They have two more tentative dates scheduled.

Crash has developed a loyal following and gains new fans with each performance.

‘‘Our friends think we are really cool,” Kate said.

The band prefers to play classic rock and has expanded its set list to seven songs — eight songs if you include ‘‘Happy Birthday” — listed on a handwritten paper taped to the Margols’ basement wall.

‘‘Everyone has been warm, caring and supportive,” Eve Margol said. ‘‘They’re just hard-working kids that want to have fun.”

Most of the time, they do have fun.

The band practices at least twice a month and sometimes more if it has an upcoming gig. Rehearsals usually evolve into play dates.

Eve Margol said the youngsters sometimes frustrate each other, but they have learned to work out their differences. They have overcome illnesses and other adversities and learned that the show must go on.

‘‘They really support one another and help each other out,” she said. ‘‘They have learned that they have to work together.”

The youngsters agree.

‘‘All that matters is that we have fun and the music sounds good,” Shilo said.

They don’t want to grow up too fast, and their parents are doing their part to keep them children.

New songs are selected carefully.

‘‘Shilo is not allowed to say bad words, so they have to leave them out of an Avril Lavigne song they sing,” Eve Margol said. ‘‘There may be songs that the kids love, but we all have to agree that they’re appropriate. There are many kid rock bands out there, but we want to keep this one family friendly.”

The band members have written an inspiring original song called ‘‘The Answer” with lyrics that describe ‘‘how they’d like the world to be” and touch on timely topics including recycling, global warming and war.

As for their future dreams, the youngsters have many, including one that involves a record producer reading this article and signing them to a contract.

Aside from that, their immediate goal is to record ‘‘The Answer.”

The band collects tips at its shows and has raised additional money by setting up lemonade stands. Band members hope to raise enough money to purchase recording studio time.

Longer-term goals of the band members include performing as a guest band at Sherwood High School’s Rock & Roll Revival, hearing their music on the radio and ending up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.