Aerodrone is still determined to mock the scene.

Byline: Serena Markstrom The Register-Guard

When we last checked in with Aerodrone, the electro-pop band was holding a contest among its fans encouraging them to post photos of themselves looking as "scene" as possible. Fans were to feature in the photos lyrics to the band's song "Sceneboy."

Fans posted photos displaying their tight, dark jeans; jet-black hair; thick eyeliner; and piercings. They donned concert T-shirts and tied colorful bows into their hair.

The contest ended in December. The winners' photos eventually will end up in the video for the song that spurred the contest.

The song talks about feeling pressured to buy new clothes and change one's hairstyle in order to stand out from the crowd. Back in November, we were so intrigued by the idea of a fashion statement with more rules than in the Oregon Driver Manuals that we set out to do our own video documenting a makeover.

Like the song itself, our video was not really to be taken seriously. But don't tell that to the young people from all over the world who littered the comments section for our YouTube video, starring your favorite Ticket writer (me), with their mean little jabs.

A recent comment, posted by "anityy," typifies the response: "Omg, wanna b xP That is so not scene O.o."

I don't immerse myself in the ever-expanding world of Internet abbreviations and acronyms, so I didn't understand many of the opinions anityy and others expressed. But I could tell these people were a) missing the point and b) not fans of mine.

From the text introduction on YouTube, those random viewers had no way to know that the piece was created for a story, or that right after the video wrapped I went back to my normal look, a style I like to call Lazy Reporter in a Town Where No One Cares What You Wear.

The Lazy Reporter look requires little thought or effort; if I buy a tube of liquid eyeliner, it goes bad before I've used a quarter of it. I would be humiliated if I were a teenager, but luckily for me it's been more than a decade since I felt intense social pressure to look a certain way.

(Btw, omg, in my teens I totally rocked ESPRIT sweatshirts with ankle-zippered Guess? jeans.)

Aerodrone founder and lead singer Gary Zon has experienced mixed reactions to his band's single, which is available on iTunes through an online-only distribution deal with a division of Warner Bros.

Zon said he's read online forums where people tore into both his look and song. But in general, people seem to think the whole thing is fun and creative.

Zon wrote the song in part to spoof his own conformity; he really does wear those tight pants and white belts on stage. But he also wanted to poke some light fun at a lifestyle trend that supposedly is meant to draw attention to individual scenesters, who then end up looking very similar to each other.

"We're trying to look in the mirror of what the generation is like," Zon said in a recent interview.

Zon said he sees many people with the scene look at his shows, but it's hard to tell if they are dressing up for the show or whether they have that look in every day life.

"It's interesting to analyze," he said. If you really wanted to stand out in a crowd of these so-called scene kids, also known sometimes as emo kids, then you'd wear all white, dye your hair gray and get a perm.

Aerodrone got its start in Eugene before moving to Los Angeles to try to make a bigger splash in the music world. The band works social networking sites hard and gigs constantly, which led to it securing management and widening its connections.

Saturday's concert is Aerodrone's first local show in a couple of years.

Concert preview

Aerodrone

With: Of Mountains, the Science Heroes, a Makeshift Resolution

What: Electronica-tinged indie rock band headlines a homecoming show and asks fans to come dressed up as "scene" as possible for a chance to be on stage with the band and win prizes

When: 9 p.m. Saturday

Where: WOW Hall, 291 W. Eighth Ave.

Tickets: $10, $8 in advance

On the Web: Read the original article about the "Sceneboy" contest and link to the video at rgweb.registerguard.com/ticketfiles, where you also hear the original song