Their music gets them out of the house

Five 40-something guys with busy lives have found a hobby that doesn't cost any money, take up too much time, or require new clothes. And when you're finished having fun, people stand up and cheer.

For the members of Sharky, rock music represents a once-a-week night out. They devote the rest of their time to work and family, just like the neighbors. ''Professional careers and families by day, and rock 'n' rollers on the weekend," said lead singer Steve Gardner.

The band coalesced in the basement of Dave Mall's East Bridgewater home about two years ago. Instead of getting together to play poker or go bowling, the guys decided to make some music.

''My wife suggested I do it," Gardner said. ''She said, 'You never get out of the house, you're always working, and you need something else to do.' What better thing to do than go play music?"

While playing music functioned as a night out with the boys, these ''boys" weren't just fooling around. All had played in rock bands earlier in their lives. Once the amps crackled and the guitars wailed, the old know-how came right back.

''It was like riding a bike," said Gardner.

Sharky soon took its act to regional clubs, wowing the younger audiences and sometimes teaching skeptical younger musicians a thing or two about the rock trade.

''We're pros," said Gardner. ''We still know what we're doing."

They're pros by day, too. Mall, 44, is a specialist in helping retailers prevent losses to theft. He is married and has one child. Another East Bridgewater resident, Mike White, 44, is a manager at Toyota of Weymouth. The band's bass guitarist, he is married and has two sons. Jimmy Peters, 44, grew up in Quincy, has been married for 25 years, and has two children. He's a software engineer for Nokia.

Gardner, who grew in Brockton and Weymouth, is a vice president for sales and general manager for Continental Wall Decor in Sharon. He's married, and has one child. And lead guitarist Paul Dennis, a longtime friend of Gardner's from West Roxbury, teaches computers, and is the band's only single member.

Mall, the band's drummer, hosts the practice session in a soundproof room in his basement -- a valuable amenity for a group that rehearses at stage volume. He put the group together by searching for good guys first, great musicians second.

''We have a good core group of guys," Gardner said. ''We'll probably be friends and pals till the day we die."

Gardner, 45, was at the tail end of a ''wannabe career" as a musician 15 years ago, playing in a band called the Condition, when he met his wife, Tracy. He and Dennis played together in a band called the Gulf Boys, named after a gas station. The group still exists, and Dennis still plays in it.

Peters, who has been playing the guitar for over 30 years, also performs throughout the region as an acoustic rock solo act.

White has the most big-stage experience in the group, after performing nationally with a Boston band, the Blackjacks.

Sharky plays no originals, as the group emphasizes connecting with audiences by offering ''classic rock and soul" music they already love. Gardner recited Dick Clark's ''American Bandstand" formula: ''It's got a nice beat and it's easy to dance to."

But unlike many cover bands, Sharky doesn't seek to perform classics ''exactly like the record," but tinkers with the dynamics or arrangements of songs to give them a new spin, he said.

Among the band's favorites are ''I Got a Line on You" by Spirit, and ''Jealous Again" by the Black Crowes. Their signature tune is ''Get Ready," a Motown classic by the Temptations. ''We do a very good version; we get requests for that," Gardner said.

Sharky has performed in some 20 clubs in Eastern Massachusetts, including Sean O'Toole's and the Black Raspberry Pub in Plymouth, Hajjar's Bar and Grille in Weymouth, Joe's American Bar & Grill in Hanover, and venues in Hull, Weymouth, Abington, and Brockton.

Branching out this summer, they played recently on the Mass. Bay Lines Music Cruise, out of Boston, and for the NASCAR audience in Loudon, N.H., after a July 17 race.

And after playing out every weekend this month, Sharky's next local date will be Aug. 20 in a return engagement at Joe's American on Route 53 in Hanover, starting at 10 p.m.

More information on the band and its schedule can be found at www.sharkyrocks.com. Robert Knox can be reached at rc.knox@gmail.com.