How long has Billy Kay been an actor? So long that in “Three Men and a Baby,” he was the baby.

Then, the potential job hazards included diaper rash. Now, torn fingers and weary muscles are among the discomforts facing Kay, 26, and the three other young actors who make up The Fingers, a fictional 1980s punk/pop band that is the focus of “Losers Take All,” an independent rock-and-roll comedy feature film now shooting in Memphis.

To add to the authenticity, any minor injuries suffered by the stars will be joined by something more significant: Genuine musicianship—or at least the appearance of it. Kay and his fellow Fingers—Kyle Gallner (“Veronica Mars”), Aaron Himelstein (“Joan of Arcadia”) and Peter Brensinger (“30 Rock”)—arrived in Memphis well before the film’s Aug. 16 start date for some lively but intense mentoring and musical instruction with singer-songwriter-guitarist John Paul Keith and drummer Paul Buchignani, two of the city’s most respected pop/rock musicians.

“For two weeks, this was like rock-and-roll boot camp,” said Kay, who plays The Fingers’ longhaired lead guitarist. He and Brensinger, the band’s drummer, are the “heavy metal-stoner” members of the group, Kay said, while Gallner (lead singer, guitar) and Himelstein (bass) represent the artsy/punk/indie esthetic.

The idea of the “boot camp” was to ensure that the actors look believable on set and onscreen when they play along to pre-recorded backing tracks during the film’s concert and recording-session sequences. But just as important, according to the producers, is that the actors—all Hollywood movie and TV veterans, despite their relative youth—would bond and behave as if they really were longtime band mates.

Said Keith, 35: “You’d be amazed at how quickly four dudes who aren’t in a band start acting like they are.”

Read on at Go Memphis.