Tunes by Numbers : They practice several times a week and keep their playlist to nine songs, which they’ll perform Friday at the Bermuda Triangle.

It’s time for the rock ‘n’ roll math quiz. How many guys in the Kingston Trio? How about the Four Seasons? 2 Live Crew? Durango 95? 10,000 Maniacs? U2? Timbuk 3?

Sometimes, it’s hard to figure rock’s less than precise fascination with numbers. Promoters know math, musicians often do not.

Local rockers Jones N Five have got the math part handled--they can count to five. The five Jones boys are Michael Jones (vocals), Vincent Scott (guitar), Paul Lester (guitar), Luke Burleson (bass) and Jason Loree (drums).

They also do the usual rock ‘n’ roll things--practice often, play live sometimes and antagonize the neighbors always. Neighbors usually like rock bands only slightly less than termites and burglars.

“All the neighbors signed some sort of petition against us and one lady asked us to sign it,” said Burleson.

“They used to call the cops on us all the time,” said Lester. “The cops would stand outside and call us by our first names. But they haven’t been here for a few months now.”

Fewer visits from the cops may be because the Jones boys, unlike most rock bands, have the time thing figured out. They only practice between 5 and 7 p.m. This keeps the neighborhood clamor for an Unwelcome Wagon down to a mild uproar.

The band practices a few times a week, and plays a few times a month, never allowing a long set list to confuse the members.

“We’re always learning songs then throwing them out,” said Burleson. “But we only keep nine at a time.”

“Ten would be faking it,” said Lester.

The band will be doing their nine-song set Friday night at their favorite local hangout, the Bermuda Triangle in Ventura. It’s a well-paying gig that helps pay their rent--which should further thrill the neighbors.

Jones N Five has been around long enough to have been a lot of other bands. For about five years, they were Dark Carnival, a speed metal band that once opened for Megadeth and Great White.

Dark Carnival went dark for good in 1988 after a gig at the Country Club in Reseda. As recently as a year ago, they were the Naked Spiders. But since the band is buying a large banner to hang on the stage when they play, Jones N Five is probably going to be their tag for awhile.

They band doesn’t do speed metal anymore, but there’re no soulful ballads in the repertoire, either. It’s loud and fast rock in the Jane’s Addiction style. It may actually hurt your teeth and pulsate your pancreas. In short, they’re fun. They’ve also got the rock star look--a zillion tattoos (except Lester). In short, the Jones N Five has everything but a deal.

“If all those crummy Santa Barbara bands can get signed, well, you never know,” said Lester.

“It’s not how you sound, it’s who you know,” said Burleson. “Right now, we’re just living day to day with our flamboyant, bitchen personalities. I just like jamming with people I get along with.”

“We just do this because we like it,” said Jones, “we’d be doing this even if we never played in a bar, even if we were 80.”

By then, the band will probably have a nine-song tape and a new name, the Geritol Five, and all the neighbors will either be dead or deaf.