Those kids of Degrassi Street sure have come a long way since the days when Joey Jeremiah, Snake and Wheels were planning to conquer the music world as the Zit Remedy. That feat has actually been accomplished by Drake, a Degrassi alumnus who has somehow transcended his “child star” origins to become one of the most talked about artists of this year.

Falling somewhere in between is SoundSpeed, a six-piece outfit comprised of four current Degrassi cast members, including lead vocalist Raymond Ablack, guitarist Jamie Johnston, bassist Dalmar Abuzeid, drummer Shane Kippel, and multi-instrumentalist Scott Paterson. The band released a three-song EP last January, and its mix of new wave and ska influences is proof enough that they’re serious at least.

Kippel, who has a track record drumming for other Toronto bands (along with the show’s fictional band Studz), told ctv.ca at the time of the EP’s release that SoundSpeed came together spontaneously when it was clear how much musical talent was on the set. “We played around for a few hours, grooving together, and even though we came from different musical backgrounds we knew there was something in there, right from the start. We decided to go forth.”

Kippel added that once they committed themselves to making the band a reality, every spare minute on set was used to write songs. Likewise, whenever anyone was required to play music on camera, they used the scene to work on their on-stage performance techniques.

“The thing is, I kind of go into my own little world when I’m playing the drums anyways, and if you look at my face, you’d be able to see that very easily,” Kippel said. “If I were concentrating on trying to make it look like Spinner (his Degrassi character) is playing the drums, I would really mess up while I’m playing the drums. I try to keep it simple.”

While all of the members of SoundSpeed believe they will have to pay their dues on the club circuit in order to succeed in the real world, what is interesting is how Drake’s success has suddenly changed the rules of the game, especially in Canada. No longer is a band like SoundSpeed immediately dismissed. Even Kippel, who worked closely with Aubrey Graham on the show before he became known as Drake, has been amazed by what a phenomenon his friend has become.

“Aubrey and I shared a dressing room for seven years,” Kippel says. “I saw him go every step of the way. He poured everything into it for a long time and it paid off for him, and it’s really cool. He would always come back from the off season with these stories about meeting Lil Wayne, meeting Pharrell Williams, meeting Dr. Dre — I didn’t know if I should believe all of it, because it seemed too good to be true. Then one day he was getting signed to this huge deal, and everything was true.”

Whether SoundSpeed achieves even a modicum of that success certainly remains to be seen. But I’m sure the guys from the Zit Remedy are their biggest fans.

Live: SoundSpeed; Saturday, July 31; Maxwell’s Music House, Waterloo; Cost: $7 (19+); Doors: 9 p.m.; More Info: 519-498-5705