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Music

Meet the band: Summerbirds in the Cellar

By BBUCKBERRYN
Published August 3, 2006

Members: Brad Register, vocals and guitar; Curtis Brown, guitar and keyboards; Tyson Bodiford, drums and bass programming; and Mike Yardley, electronic percussion.

The lowdown: The ambitious, multitasking quartet formed in 2002 from the wreckage of Pilots vs. Aeroplanes, a popular Orlando act that included a couple of band members but did not factor into Summerbirds' modus operandi. The guys put on an energetic live show, and their songs are alternately spacey and catchy, with electronic sounds fleshing things out.

CD: With the Hands of the Hunter It All Becomes Dead

Cozy familiarities: Like a lot of groups out now, the Summerbirds' guitars sample liberally from the modern-rock-through-the-decades buffet. They possess certain genre-bending similarities to tourmates Now It's Overhead, an up-and-coming act on Saddle Creek Records.

The St. Petersburg Times exchanged some brief e-mail messages with guitarist Brown while the band was in touring transit mode.

Cozy familiarities, part II: "We grew up in the same city (Lakeland) and still are motivated by similar goals. We haven't killed each other yet."

Strange and interesting tour experiences? "That's private."

Big plans? "Well, our goal is to tour half of this year. We're a little behind schedule at this point, but we'll be gone the next four out of six months. The two months that we do have off will be spent recording for the next record. The next step will be finding a good home for it."

Personal, artistic influences: "Tony Wilson and Noam Chomsky."

People will like Summerbirds, if they like . . . "To think and dance."

Thoughts on the WMNF-FM 88.5 Tropical Heatwave: "Surprisingly, one of the most organized festivals we've played - hats off."

And just how did the band name come about? "A lack of sleep and hallucinogenics."

Check 'em out: 10 p.m. Sunday with Now It's Overhead, Candy Bars and the Aloha Model at New World Brewery, 1313 E Eighth Ave., Ybor City. $7, 21 and older. (813) 248-4969. www.summerbirds.com.

- JULIE GARISTO, Times staff writer

[Last modified August 2, 2006, 09:29:07]