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BLACK LICK--Call them angels with amps. Three Homer City residents--sisters Sarah and Tina Sykes and their friend Megan Pavlick--along with Laura Bentley of Indiana--have been grabbing the ears of audiences in Pennsylvania and a few other states.

Ranging in age from just 16 to 20, they've formed that rarest of musical assemblages: the all-girl rock band. They're presenting that non-traditional lineup to audiences who, like them, are tuned in to contemporary Christian music.

Calling themselves "The Silver Halos," the quartet has been together for only six months, but has made believers of many young fans of faith-influenced song.

In an era where Christian rock has diversified into sub-genres embracing both grunge and punk stylings, "We wanted to stand out and be different," said 16-year-old Sarah Sykes, the band's lead guitarist and principal songwriter.

That's why, six months ago, when the Halos' original male drummer left the group, the Sykes sisters were determined to switch to all-female personnel.

With 20-year-old Tina playing bass, the sisters handle all vocals.

Sarah recruited rhythm guitarist Pavlick, 18, a fellow member of a guitar club at Homer-Center High School. Bentley, 17, responded to a notice for a new drummer.

"They defy expectations: these girls can really rock," says their manager Ed Iandiorio, a local instructor of the deaf who met the Sykes sisters when he directed them in "Spiritual Hands," a sign language performance group.

But, he said, the Halos have to win over skeptics who believe the young performers, all but one of whom are a year away from their high school graduation, would sound more like "Josie and the Pussycats" than rocker Joan Jett.

"The audience is judging us be-fore they even hear us," Tina said.

But at least they're getting no-ticed, her sister added, "because we're girls. Then they say, 'Let's see what these girls can do.' "

"We're here to show them we can do it," said Tina.

Comparing her band to mainstream rock, Tina contends, "The only thing different is the lyrics": not always "religious," but infused with spiritual commitment.

Tina indicated the Silver Halos' sound most comfortably fits into pop, not punk. "We do have a few songs that are bouncy," she noted.

"They're radio-friendly," her sister added optimistically.

This week, the group was to head to a studio in Apollo to make its first recording--a four-song demo CD, which will give Iandiorio something to shop to Christian radio stations and concert promoters.

While booking two dozen gigs so far, he said, "Everybody has always asked me to send them a demo."

The Silver Halos are going where only a few Christian acts have gone before.

Iandiorio noted a California group, "Rachel Rachel," briefly pioneered the all-girl Christian rock band in the early 1990s. The Sykes sisters could cite only one other Christian band without men: the "Halo Friendlies" of Long Island.

That band's Me Against The World was featured in Disney's movie, Freaky Friday.

The Sykes sisters play guitars passed down by their grandfather, Wesley Errett of Homer City, who used to play in a local band.

Sarah picks out notes on an exotic Gibson Les Paul model made from banana wood and adds "grunge" effects with a foot pedal.

The learning curve has been rapid for both sisters, who are largely self-taught.

In fact, Sarah hadn't touched a guitar before she came up with the idea of forming a rock group about a year ago.

Tina recalled, "She said she wanted to start a Christian band, and I thought it was a joke."

Sarah soon learned to play cover versions of contemporary Christian "praise" songs.

Her sister noted, "She knows most of the songs by ear. In one day, she'll listen to a CD over and over until she gets it down."

Tina said she takes her cues from her sister: "When she speeds up, I speed up."

The siblings also have been working diligently to perfect their vocal harmonies.

"We have an advantage over most bands," Sarah said, noting she and her older sister, a sophomore journalism major at IUP, still reside under the same roof. "We can practice our singing together anytime we want."

"It can be midnight and one of us will say, 'Let's try a harmony part,' " added Tina, who took leading roles in three student musicals at Homer-Center High School.

The two newer band members also have stepped up to the plate.

"Megan picks up riffs really quickly," Iandiorio commented. She has impressed both her manager and bandmates by quoting a classical Bach piece in a guitar intro she devised.

Iandiorio observed that Bentley has improved after studying tapes of more experienced drummers.

She said, "All of us want our music to be tight and right on tempo. That takes practice."

Except when school or vacations interfere, the band practices every Tuesday in the basement of Black Lick's Chapel of Hope Church, where Iandiorio and the Sykes sisters worship.

That hard work has begun to pay off, as the band has completed a string of gigs, including opening for three national Christian rock acts: "Building 429," "Sanctus Real" and "Starfield."

The Silver Halos will share the bill with other major Christian artists--"Everlife," "By The Tree" and "Hawk Nelson"--at Indiana's fifth annual Godstock festival, set for Aug. 6 at noon at Mack Park.

It's a step up from last year, when their role was to serve food to the performers.

Sarah recalled the band's first public performance was for a youth group at a local Methodist Church. She said, "We were really nervous, especially since we knew all the people in the audience."

During their set, she added, "It seemed like we could barely open our mouths to sing." But afterwards, "People told us we were good."

Though they were lacking a demo CD, she noted, "We'd get a lot of gigs by word of mouth. People will hear something about us."

It also helps to have a few connections--as Iandiorio does, through his work as a deejay with a local Christian music station.

But the Sykes used their own networking abilities to land their first booking as an opener for a national act.

Their largest audience to date, about 600 people, saw them play at a youth retreat in Tennessee.

Sarah explained, "My mother's friend is married to the youth pastor," at the church which hosted the retreat.

Still, "We had to go audition, and a week later we went back out to play."

While entertaining the large crowd "pumped us up," so did meeting one of their idols, Building 459. "We were all star struck," Sarah said.

The girls also discovered the perks of opening for a well-known act. "With a national band, we get our own food room" backstage, Sarah noted. Pavlick particularly appreciated the fresh fruit.

The atmosphere was a little more relaxed on June 12, when they opened for Canada's Starfield at the Penn Run Outreach Center. "We had a cookout and played hacky sack with them," Tina said. "It was no different than hanging out with anyone else."

Perhaps because of the goodwill espoused by the music, the Halos and their manager agree most Christian music concerts avoid the backstage ego trips and excesses often associated with rock acts.

Said Sarah, "We all get in a big group circle and pray before the show," including the other bands in the lineup.

Drinks to keep the musicians refreshed between sets are strictly sodas--no alcohol.

Tina has found that same spirit of restraint extends to spontaneous interactions, such as crowd surfing, among audience members: "Even when people mosh, it doesn't get carried away."

If the Silver Halos continue to expand their audience, they could achieve another important ad-vance for female Christian rockers.

But the members note their musical influences, in both Christian and secular genres, mostly have been male artists.

Sarah Sykes acknowledged the band's affinity for two Pittsburgh Christian rock outfits: "Switch," which Iandiorio describes as a purveyor of "fun and fast punk music," otherwise known as "soda punk rock;" "Paravel," which follows a more basic rock approach.

The latter band derives its name from a castle in C.S. Lewis' children's fantasy series--the Chronicles of Narnia.

Musically, each band member cites diverse secular artists who have stimulated them creatively.

"I like a lot of the old rockers, from Jimmy Page to Joe Perry," Sarah Sykes said.

Pavlick referenced the timeless music of the Beatles, particularly George Harrison.

Bentley is partial to the Dave Matthews Band, but also inherited from her parents a taste for such classic rockers as Eric Clapton and Led Zeppelin.

Tina Sykes looks up to her grandfather and her uncle, Kevin Errett, both of whom have played bass guitar.

"They're so well-rounded in the musical realm," she said. "They are my biggest influence."

Kevin Errett now plays in a Christian-oriented "praise" band.

When the Silver Halos first took wing, they focused on covering other artists' praise songs.

Said Tina, "We started playing in Mr. I's basement, doing all praise songs. We added our one twist to that, and now we have eight original songs we play."

Though the group is considering incorporating Jett's seminal "I Love Rock 'n Roll" into its sets as an appropriate cover, Sarah prefers to write and perform original material.

"It takes more work and talent to write your own songs," she said. "It helps you to describe yourself better, and what your band's about."

Despite her tender years, Sarah Sykes has been writing songs for many years.

She said, "I started writing songs in sixth grade," with some classmates. "We thought it would be so cool to be in a band, like Britney Spears."

Those early compositions were "mostly songs about school" and "stupid stuff," she admits.

Now, she finds her lyrical voice by drawing upon both experience and spiritual teachings.

"It usually comes to me from my experience or something I've read," Sarah said of the ideas she spins into lyrics.

She said she has particularly been fascinated by the Book of Revelation, which has inspired several of her songs--sometimes during her preacher's sermon.

Jam sessions with her uncle also often provide the genesis of a new song.

Strumming on an acoustic guitar, "If I find a riff I think is cool, I'll bring it in and play it with the band," she said.

Sarah believes Reasons is the band's strongest song. "It has a lot of different catchy spots," she said. "You can pick it up the first time you hear it."

"The hooks are what get people to remember it," Tina said.

Sarah explained the song discusses "reasons" why people are attracted to each other, including something as superficial as "the way they style their hair." But, in the end, any lasting relationship is about "having somebody to be with you, to encourage you."

Cardboard Man has a heavier theme: pointing out the hypocrisy of some who appear to be devout Christians.

The song's title developed out of a simple prank: Iandiorio startled Tina by positioning a cardboard cutout of a man behind a door.

Despite being the target of the stunt, Tina found the resulting song "was fun to put together."

Sarah credits an assist by Iandiorio on the song's lyrics. He suggested "piety" as a rhyme for "society."

The Sykes sisters said their songs are not the rock equivalent of a sermon. While the group's material is imbued with their faith, Sarah Sykes said the Silver Halos try to avoid a preachy approach.

"We're not too pushy," she said. "We're just trying to show our audience the joy that we have."

Iandiorio agrees that most effective Christian rockers "should just set an example. If you try to preach, you're not going to get your message across."

Sarah acknowledged, at any concert, a portion of the band's audience is turned off by any mixture of rock and religion. At one gig, she recalled, "As soon as Tina said the word 'God,' five or six people walked out."

The band addresses another aspect of performing in the song, Fame, one of the numbers on the demo. "We're not here for fame," Sarah noted. "We don't need the bright lights because our God is always there."

Still, the Silver Halos became familiar with the drive for fame when they signed up for "Apollo Idol," a talent show in that community which mimicked the popular American Idol.

Sarah explained she and her bandmates had hoped to win the contest's $200 prize to help cover the costs of their CD.

The band was disappointed when it failed to place, but they concluded that their hard-edged Christian message simply had been misunderstood--particularly when, Sarah recalled, "The three judges told us our show would be complete if we wore glittery costumes."

Though the Silver Halos didn't take the "Idol" title, their appearance brought them to the attention of Bill Duff, a fellow Christian musician and music instructor.

While running the sound board, Duff "was so impressed by them he offered to do their demo for free," Iandiorio said. "God was there."

In return, Duff's band will be performing at Godstock, which Iandiorio is managing this year.

In addition, the Halos are looking forward to an Aug. 20 festival in Kittanning, where they will share the stage with "Rented Bodies," an all-male Christian band.

Though making money is not the primary goal, it is a necessity. Money from their paying gigs has helped them with travel and food expenses on the road.

Eventually, the Silver Halos are hoping to set aside enough money to invest in cordless microphones.

As a fundraising tool, they have introduced their own "merchandise:" hats and t-shirts in pink and black.

On the other hand, Tina noted, "We had to turn a few hundred dollars' worth of gigs down because we were on vacation."

Iandiorio stressed the importance of proper priorities: "God and their families come first, then school and then the band."

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