School is certainly a great place to get an education, but it can also be an excellent place to form a band. From The Beatles to Pink Floyd, the camaraderie built during the educational exploits of band members is a special bond, which sometimes translates into the music. Such is the case with Family Wagon, a four-piece, indie blues/rock-inspired group that performs at The Soda Bar on Friday. Formed at Point Loma Nazarene University in 2007 by bassist Gareth Moore and guitarist Ryan Wiess, the pair bonded in science classes over a love of music. The men soon added drummer Bryan Bangerter and Ocean Beach-based singer Calen Lucas. The quartet initially rehearsed in the basement of the lab,with Bangerter keeping the beat on a cookie sheet. However, when their music began to interrupt the reproduction cycle of lab rats, they were asked to stop. They continued and were eventually kicked out of the basement, setting in motion the formation of a more serious band. Moore said Family Wagon grew into its current original music set lists. “It was really, really casual when we first started,” Moore said. “We mainly played covers — our influences, from Led Zeppelin to The Mars Volta. But more importantly, as we grew into taking the band more seriously, we grew as friends as well, so it worked out perfectly in that regard.” Three of the band members have since graduated, with only Bangerter still in college, but Moore considers their time together to have been a key element with the band. “There is a lot of camaraderie in the band,” Bangerter said. “There’s hardly any bickering. The worst has been things like, ‘I don’t like that chord.’ Then we laugh about it.” Earlier this month, the band released a self-titled three-song EP recorded at producer Rafter Roberts’ Singing Serpent Studios. Family Wagon’s main songwriter is drummer Bangerter, a solo performer in his own right. “He writes the songs and then we all bring in lyrics and riffs,” said Lucas. “We all try to pitch in, but he’s definitely gifted.” For Lucas, it’s the band interaction that appeals the most. “With this lineup, I feel honored to being playing and singing with these guys,” Lucas said. Moore concurs. “I’ve played with people before, a jam session here and there,” Moore said. “I‘ve had a good time, but this is on a whole other level, especially the musicianship. I consider myself a pretty good musician, but in this band I’m bringing up the bottom rung.” The band is named after Moore’s old Family Wagon van, which he lived in during his first year at college in order to save money. “When I was 18, I lived in it on the streets of Ocean Beach,” Moore said. “I’ve had it ever since. I thought that once I stopped living in it, I’d get rid of it. But it’s sort of stuck with me. “Someone asked us what the name of our band was and we’d gone through 40 or 50 names,” he said. “This time, kind of jokingly, Ryan threw out ‘Family Wagon’ and we all started laughing about it.” Fate intervened when the joking name then showed up in a school newspaper. “After that we kind of got stuck with it,” Moore said. To date, Family Wagon has only made small touring forays, but Moore says that, having established themselves locally, addressing that situation is key to the band’s progression. “I think [we may be] getting out of San Diego and trying to build an audience — at least up the West Coast,” said Moore. “Leaving the area you are comfortable in is kind of like entering the real world.” Family Wagon performs at The Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Blvd., on Friday, Oct. 16 at 9 p.m. The show is for those 21 and up. For more information, visit http://www.myspace.com/familywagonmusic.