Kevin Bronson on September 8th, 2009

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The guys in Orange County quintet the Jakes probably wouldn’t have minded toasting their good fortune Monday night, or even checking out the headliners who invited them to play Spaceland, Saint Motel. But after their well-received set, the Jakes – four of their members not old enough to drink – were relegated to greeting well-wishers outside the club.

Their time will come, a sentiment likely shared by Roadrunner Records, which signed the five-piece in August. Yes, that’s the same Roadrunner that is home to the likes of Slipknot, Nickelback, Megadeth, Killswitch Engage and even Lynyrd Skynyrd. What’s the winner of “Best Metal Label” doing with a band you might hear on a date-movie soundtrack?

“I think Roadrunner A&R is kind of taking a left-wing approach, and trying to get in to some vestige of indie-rock, or whatever it’s called,” Jakes singer Sameer Gadhia [pictured] says. “We’re excited. We’re young and trying to get people to listen to our music.”

The Jakes’ amiable, blues-inflected indie-pop is still a work in progress, as is their live show, but Gadhia, guitarists Jacob Tilley and Eric Cannata, bassist Payam Doostzadeh and drummer Francois Comtois – drums/vocals have a flair for melodic romanticism that’s infectious. The band’s members – previously separated by the geography of attending different West Coast colleges – spent the summer in Newport Beach working out new tunes. They plan to begin recording an album in October.

“We’ve had more time to work with each other now,”Gadhia says. “It’s a brand-new slate.”

||| Live: The Jakes play at UC Irvine on Sept. 23 and the Viper Room on Sept. 28.