Teen band NTOR took the stage at La Motta's Sunday night, drawing a family-friendly crowd to the adult music hotspot, while raising funds for the Long Island Chapter of Autism Speaks.

The two-plus hour concert capped a busy weekend of music for the five Weber eighth graders. Friday night, the band won second-place in Autism Speaks' Island-wide musical showdown "Bands Battling Autism."

"It was huge for them," said Kim Nguyen, mother of band-guitarist Kain Summerlin, of NTOR's second place win against the older, more established bands. "Some of those kids have record deals, they're all high school and college students, they [NTOR] were the youngest ones," added Nguyen.

The band may be young enough to need their mothers to drive them to gigs but their resume is long and getting longer. Since debuting in 2005 as a fourth-grade talent show act, the band has played dozens of gigs, including Port Washington's recent Grande Festa Italiana and summer Harborfest. Over Labor Day, the teens opened an outdoor concert sponsored by the famed live-music spot The Stephen Talkhouse in Amagansett, NY.

"I didn't know what to expect from eighth graders but they're good. They have a lot of soul," said first-time audience member Nora Johnson.

The band drew a diverse crowd. Weber students mixed with toddlers and their parents, and kids in soccer uniforms ran around the dance floor. State Senator Craig Johnson, D - Port Washington,  stopped by to listen and mingle.

"I heard them play at the Italian Feast," said Johnson. "If there is a band that can do a great cover of Weezer, I'm coming down. Especially if they're in eighth grade," he added.

The band, an alternative electro-pop group, kicked off the show with The Beatles "A Little Help from My Friends," but played mostly new covers like the Glee-inspired "Don't Stop Believin," "Kids" by MGMT, and "Wake Me up When September Ends" by Green Day. Also, on the set list, two original songs "Sleepyheads" and "Driving."

"We're working on our third song," said keyboardist Jenny Aguiar. "We're trying to get to no more covers," she added. All band members, which also includes lead singer Joe Panico, Will Berger on drums and Wyatt Sempliner on bass, pitch in on song-writing.

NTOR raised $475 from raffles, t-shirt sales and arts and crafts for the kids. La Motta's will donate a portion of the bar and food sales from the evening to a team for the Autism Speaks Jones Beach walk set for Sunday, October 3rd. But the money raised was only part of the evening's success, according to Autism Speaks event coordinator Sinead Maloney.

"It' not even the money, it's the awareness," said Maloney. "People don't know that it [autism] affects one in 110 children and people think its rare but it's growing," added Maloney, who distributed educational materials on autism.

When the evening ended, on a rollicking high note with "Seven Nation Army" by the White Stripes, it was back to teen-dom for the band, loading gear into parental cars and heading home to catch up on homework.

For more information about NTOR, visit www.ntorband.com