Blackouts roll into town

Paul Saitowitz

The Rolling Blackouts seem like they have the formula down. They have

the look -- tight jeans, long mussed-like-I-just-woke-up-but-I-

actually-styled-it-this-way hair, small ill-fitting T-shirts with

snappy slogans from bygone eras on them, all nicely framed by a

sports jacket or the requisite Michael Jackson-Ricky Schroeder-era

windbreaker.

Then there’s the name. A pop culture reference that brings to mind

the power outage that ravaged the East Coast last year and, of

course, the word “Rolling.” The first word in another two-word band

that has proven to spark a fair amount of success.

Surface-level stuff mixed with right amounts of hip and style can

get a band far these days -- just turn on the radio -- but what

separates the Rolling Blackouts from their garage-spawned brethren

are the songs.

The Who-inflected rhythms with healthy amounts Iggy Pop attitude,

Sonics energy and Beach Boys grandiosity make the songs both familiar

and fresh at the same time. The sound, however, owes as much to Black

Flag and the Descendents as it does to Pete Townshend.

“We are from the South Bay, and this area is kind of like a home

for punk rock ... we all started out playing in different punk

bands,” lead singer and guitarist Danny Holden said. “As we got older

we started listening to more classic rock like The Who, and we just

kind of evolved.”

Hailing from the same area that spawned skate-punk stalwarts

Pennywise -- and a million bands that sound exactly like them -- made

it difficult for the Rolling Blackouts, who formed three years ago,

to get shows at first, but a month-long residency at Silverlake’s

Spaceland opened some eyes.

After putting out a seven-inch record on a tiny independent label,

the band signed a deal with the Record Collection -- home to New York

art rockers The Walkmen -- which has a distribution deal with Warner

Brothers.

“A friend of ours that really liked us had a friend that worked at

the Record Collection, and once they saw us play, they were really

interested,” Holden said. “So far, they have been really supportive.”

The band’s album, “Black is Beautiful,” was released in August,

and since then they have steadily toured the country, including

stints on the Warped Tour and a gig opening for stoner rockers Fu

Manchu. There are hopes to possibly hit rock-crazy Europe some time

next year, but for now the band is earning its domestic stripes.

“We all can’t wait to get over to Europe, but our label wants us

to build a stronger following over here before that happens,” Holden

said.

That will start Monday night at Detroit Bar, when the band will

play the first of it’s four gigs at the venue this month.

“We’re excited to play there; it’s a really intimate venue,” he

said. “Playing residencies is more relaxed, because you know you’re

gonna be back ... hopefully more and more people will show up each

week.”