FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Most American teenagers, and those whose garage bands survive into their 20s, usually play rock ‘n’ roll music. But not so for the Eastern Shore-based band Roman Street, whose instrumental tunes soar to the beat of Latin-influenced melodies and rhythms.

“It’s very unusual for young men to be playing that style of music,” said Patty Thompson, house manager at the Saenger Theatre and mother of Noah and Josh Thompson, who play acoustic guitars in the band. “I’m very proud of the boys — all five of them — and the men that they have become, their talent and their heart about their music.”

Even the band’s name tells a different story.

“We draw a lot of inspiration from our European mentors, Tonic Strings, who live in Baden, Switzerland,” said Noah Thompson, 26, who plays guitar for the band, along with his brother Josh, 22. “We go over there and study and hang out with them. Nic Niedermann (one member of the Tonic Strings guitar duo) lives in that old Roman city on a little street that in German means Roman Street.”

The cover of “amore,” the band’s latest CD, also has an international theme, showing a picture of Venice and its romantic canals, which back up to homes with porches overlooking the water. The picture was taken by Nik White, the band’s djembe drum player, on his honeymoon there.

Not exactly your Spanish moss-draped Baldwin County back road cover shot, typical of some local bands.

Also not typical is the success of that CD and group, some members of which are barely out of their teens.

Although Thompson would not reveal how many copies of “amore” has sold, other than saying the number was “in the thousands,” Wade Wellborn of Fairhope’s Dr. Music record store said one of the things that has distinguished Roman Street is how such a young local band has sold so many records.

“I’ve heard they sold upwards of 10,000 copies of one of their CDs,” Wellborn said. “That’s unheard of even for more established local legends.”

The Thompson brothers and other band members — Jason Sikes on bass, and Daniel Brett and White on percussion — open Thursday night, Jan. 21, at Mobile’s Saenger Theatre for award-winning guitar virtuoso Jesse Cook of Canada, who has been a major influence on the group, all of whom grew up in either Daphne or Fairhope.

“My djembe player Nik’s father gave me a CD when I was 13 years old of Jesse Cook’s “Vertigo” album,” Noah Thompson said. “I was absolutely enamored by his skill. I knew enough about the the music to understand that what the guy was doing was absolutely incredible. He really planted the seed of my interest in this kind of music. I always wanted to play that way but I always just wrote it off, telling myself that I’d never be able to learn to play like that.”

This will be the second time in a year that Roman Street will open for one of their main inspirations and influences. Last year they opened at the Saenger for Tonic Strings, who Patty Thompson introduced to her sons during their first American tour some 10 years ago, which she helped organize.

“It was because of this relationship and experience that the boys were exposed to this style of music and began to play it and develop a love for it,” Patty Thompson said. “As time went by and Roman Street was formed, additional members were added to the band and the complete sound began to fill out.”

Noah Thompson was just 16 when he first met the Tonic Strings guitarists at a First Friday ArtWalk in Fairhope where they were playing.

“That was my first opportunity to listen to that kind of music in person,” Noah Thompson said. “I was just in awe of them. I had been playing guitar for about six months, and my jaw was just on the floor.”

Thompson said he asked the duo “tons of questions,” resulting in their “writing a lot of stuff down for me on a pad of paper and leaving me some of their CDs before they went back to Europe.”

For the next year, Thompson basically taught himself that style of music, which led to his traveling with his brother, who had since taken up the guitar as well, to Switzerland, where the Tonic Strings guitarists became their mentors and friends.

“I was taking classical guitar lessons at the time, but it was traditional classical guitar,” Noah Thompson said. “They were really the first ones to show me how to flip my guitar over in my lap like a regular guitar player and play like the gypsies did. They were really fast.”

Noah turned down two acceptances to medical school in favor of pursuing his music. He lives in Jackson, Miss., where his wife will soon graduate from her medical training.

He said they will be moving back to Mobile, and his brother, Josh, will move back after graduating from Auburn University, as well. The other three members continue to live in the Eastern Shore area. Once they are back in the area together, they will get even more serious about their band, and take their own first American tour.

For now, you can catch them next week as the warm up act for Jesse Cook.

“Jesse is one of their biggest influences and inspirations,” Patty Thompson said. “So it’s going to be a very special occasion for all of us.”

Tickets are $17 and $22 plus service charges and are available at the Saenger box office and through Ticketmaster.