`Saturdays' full of energy

The Austin, Texas-based band Dexter Freebish got its name from a now-defunct roller coaster the band members rode as children.

Dexter Freebish's debut album A Life of Saturdays, combines a mixture of U2, Better Than Ezra and Matchbox 20 to create a familiar sound of good driving music.

The five men from Austin have been working toward stardom for years, testing different sounds and names.

The band, which consists of lead singer Rob Kyle, bassist Chris Lowe, guitarist/keyboardist Scott Romig, lead guitarist/vocalist Charles Martin and drummer Rob Schilz, was first called Twigs and tried to make it with an acoustic sound.

"We went from a down-the-street acoustic thing to a little more rock," Kyle said. "Then we went heavy. Now we've found the happy medium where we like where we are at."

The band pooled its money to enter The John Lennon Song Contest with the song "Leaving Town" in 1999. When its song was picked for the top 25 out of about 27,000 songs entered in the contest, Capitol Records took an interest in the band and signed them to a record deal.

"Leaving Town" won the contest, received a check for $20,000 and gave the band the break of a lifetime.

The song can now be heard on radio stations across the country.

With catchy music and lyrics, fans have caught on to Dexter Freebish's music quickly. Songs such as "My Madonna" and "Spotlight" are great sing-a-long songs

"It is a great feeling when the crowd sings back our songs," Lowe said. "We definitely feed off the crowd energy and try to give it right back."

For the most part, the album sticks to a style that Dexter Freebish calls the "happy medium." It unnecessarily reverts to its old, not-quite-so-heavy rock style on "Falling Down," and then tries an ineffective echo sound on "Bring Me Water."

Beyond these tracks, A Life of Saturdays has genuine musical energy. In a time of dancing boy bands, Dexter Freebish is a rare group of musicians that writes, plays and sings its own music.

The band is currently on tour opening for Everlast. It will perform in Albuquerque on Monday at the Sunshine Theatre. The show is all ages and starts at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster.