Some bands play for fun. Some bands play for money. Some bands play to score. San Jose's Blank Manuscript plays for something far more important: the community. "For us, music is about so much more than just playing shows and recording albums," says Manuscript keyboardist Matt Gonzales. "We want to use our voice as a vehicle for change, and try to make a difference in the world. We want to open minds."

Since its inception in 2005, Gonzales, along with guitarist/vocalist Jose Leyva, drummer Christian Montiel and bassist Eddie Montelongo, have been active participants in a myriad of social causes, including playing benefit shows for local nonprofit organizations. Groups like SJSU's Student Advocates for Higher Learning (SAHE) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MEChA) have all benefited from the band's community activism. Gonzales says the Blank Mansuscript feels a certain responsibility to help raise awareness on a wide range of issues from immigration to education to breast cancer. "We try to do whatever we can to help the community and to be involved with positive change," he says.

Aside from the band's willingness to partake in events aimed at community awareness, the Blank Manuscript also speaks emphatically through its music, a heady combination of prog-rock, jazz, metal and a few dozen other styles. Songs like "Abrir Los Ojos (Open the Eyes)", which morphs from a blistering two-minute prog-metal intro into a classic-rock-meets-punk song, before settling into a slow, psychedelic haze, and "Blind Youth" offer listeners an intensely diverse musical journey. "We all come from different musical backgrounds," says Gonzales when asked how the group manages to conjure such a unique sound. "I'm more of a reggae and jazz guy, and Dennis and Eduardo listen to a lot more rock and metal. Christian likes a lot of jazz and progressive rock. One thing we all have in common is a love for the Doors and newer bands like Isis and the Mars Volta." Gonzales also says the Blank Manuscript draws influence from a handful of rock en español bands such as Caifanes, Café Tacuba and Los Fabulosos Cadillacs.

A debut full-length album (the band has released two EPs), Cambia Sociedad (Change Society), is in its final stages, and Gonzales says it will feature a fresher, funkier sound than past efforts, plus a few slower songs "that you can chill to." The band also landed a slot at the El Mexicano Rockfest concert, which featured Latin rock pioneers El Tri along with Ramones drummer Marky Ramone. For Gonzales, playing at Rockfest is another step toward the band's ultimate goal: broadcasting their music, and their message, to world. "We dream of taking the Blank Manuscript to an international level," Gonzales says.

BLANK MANUSCRIPT plays Nov. 3 at 7:30pm at San Jose City College as part of its Dia de los Muertos event, and Nov. 6 at the Uproar Art Exhibit at South First Billiards.

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