Metro Pulse/Music/Lights Out

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What:
Lights Out with 1975 and Six

When:
Thursday, Aug. 16 at 9 p.m.

Where:
Pilot Light

Cost:
$3

Lights Out tunes in to the industry

by John Sewell

Those rock 'n' roll guys: you just gotta love 'em. In spite of the constant evolution of the pop-music marketplace, there's always a new crop of fresh-faced lads in tight black pants brandishing low-slung guitars. Sure, the rock/rebel pose might be just a little bit (or a whole lot) hackneyed at this point, but who cares? It's a heck of a lot cooler than backwards baseball caps, that's for sure.

You guessed it, there's a new gang of rock 'n' roll upstarts in Knoxville. Lights Out, a pop/rock/glam outfit originally from Huntington, W.Va., has chosen our fair city as their new home—the home from which they're mounting a campaign to become bonafide rock stars, baby.

So why Knoxville, of all places? "Well, we had to pick a middle point between some markets [note the use of music industry jargon] that we've been playing in," says guitarist/vocalist Jesse Rockwell. (Rockwell—what an apt name!) "Knoxville is a great location between Cincinnati and Huntington—the northern cities we've been playing—and Birmingham and Atlanta. So it saves us a lot of time on trips and a lot of miles on the van to be here. We like to play here. We like the town and I've always been a fan of Superdrag."

Upon listening to Lights Out's five-song demo, it's evident that Superdrag is indeed an influence. The band combines singalong melodicism, strong hooks and a power-chord crunch that gives you a caffeine/sugar rush faster than dumping pop rocks in your Cherry Coke. It's obvious that these guys have done their homework in the powerpop genre, combining the sounds of bands like Cheap Trick, The Cars and Mötley Crüe with a youthful and uniquely Southern vigor. Far from the anger and teen angst that are so popular among the "extreme" rage-rock camp, Lights Out instead offer pure fun and energy.

In spite of their youth, the members of Lights Out are all veteran players. Rockwell, 22, was formerly a member of 60 Cycle Hum, a band that has played Knoxville a handful of times. In Lights Out, Rockwell is abetted by bassist Joshua Craig, 20, and drummer Rusty Knight, 24. Everyone in the band had been in other outfits in Huntington. Established in 1999, the band has had a solid lineup for well over a year.

It's not exactly easy getting established from the bottom tier of the rock 'n' roll hierarchy, but Lights Out has a few friends helping them on their way. The band recently inked a deal with AHR Promotions, a booking agency based in Atlanta. Since then, they've become a mainstay of the Atlanta scene, playing regularly at such noted dives as The Dark Horse Tavern and the Nine Lives Saloon. The band is presently recording another demo with Atlanta producer Ryan Pitchford, who will then shop the recording to record labels.

"Andy—that's our friend at AHR Promotions—he's sort of an upstart guy," says Rockwell. "You know, he was actually someone that we knew back home in Huntington. He'd been living in Atlanta for about a year when he started working with us. He has so many connections, and we weren't really doing that much before we hooked up with him. I'm really proud to be associated with him because he's really dedicated."

Rockwell laughingly says that Lights Out hopes for "world domination." But it's still an uphill climb. The band is taking whatever comes along, planning to go the indie route—for starters, anyway.

"I don't really feel that a major-label deal is in our best interest from the get-go," says Rockwell. "I think it's a better idea that we'll start with an indie and maybe work up some numbers on that record—maybe even try to get a major label to buy out our first record or something like that down the road. But I think we'd be better off with an indie to begin with."

For now, the band is just staying busy: playing gigs wherever they can get them, working part-time jobs to stay afloat and sharing a downtown apartment, just like The Monkees, Mötley Crüe or even Superdrag did, back in the day. Rockwell says the band doesn't have a structured plan for global conquest just yet.

"For the next few months I think we'll have to deal with a little bit of starvation," says Rockwell, laughing. "I've got some pretty realistic goals. But who knows, something could happen. We've got a lot of people who are taking an interest in the band, especially in Atlanta. So anything could happen and everything could happen. We'll just have to wait and see."