By Charley Kassabian, A&E editor

Many young musicians dream of having their names in lights, playing sold out tours while fans line up to buy their hit CDs.

For Modern Day Kids, that dream is quickly becoming a reality.

Alternative pop-punk band Modern Day Kids,  commonly known as MDK, is composed of Cal sophomores Tyler Stimpson and Matt Salavitch, junior Nick Hays, and senior Keller O’Rourke.

The band’s original members were Matt (bass), Nick (guitar), and Keller (drums), who met in jazz band.

A few months later, Matt recommended Tyler join as their lead singer, and the four have since been paving their way to success.

Tyler brought his song, titled “Keep it Going,” to the table, and the group has been playing together ever since.

“MDK is by far the best band I have ever been in,” said Tyler.

In the past, Tyler and Matt played together in a band called Winged Foot. Also, Matt and Keller played in an unnamed band, which they considered to be unproductive in comparison to MDK.

“I think having a record deal trumps all past bands of ours,” said Keller.

MDK was recently signed to R-Tist Records by Robert “Robby-Z” Zolezzi for a 12- song album titled “It’s Never Over,” which is expected to be released next month.

The band was discovered by Robby-Z after playing at a private party. After hearing their acoustic set, he told them right away that he was interested in signing them to his label.

The rough cut of their first single, titled “I Know,” was recently released on ReverbNation.com. “I Know” is one of the band’s  more popular songs, and it has been heard at many of the local shows the band has played over the past few months.

The production of MDK’s album is well under way, and they are hoping to hold multiple CD release parties to help kick off their debut record. The band is also hoping to have T-shirts prepared to sell at the same time as their CD.

But MDK sees this as only a beginning. The prospect of recording future records and playing on tour is not out of reach for the band by any means.

“We are hoping to go onto Warped Tour, or just to tour in general,” said Keller.

On Sunday, the band played a knockout performance at Slim’s in San Francisco for “The Next Big Thing Tour.”

Even with so much on the horizon for MDK, they have enjoyed many experiences in the months that they have been together.

“Some of our band practices, when we are just like ‘Oh my God, this is so cool,’ are some of my favorite moments in MDK,” said Matt.

The band’s success has gained them lots of attention from Cal students involved in the music scene.

“I like them as a band,” said senior Brandon Downum. “They are really cool dudes who play catchy music.”