Curtis Roush of Bright Light Social Hour on guitar and vocals during a performance at Grounds for Thought. (Photos: Enoch Wu/Sentinel-Tribune)

The
band Bright Light Social Hour came together in a house in Austin, Texas.That’s
where one of the founders guitarist Curtis Roush lived. And wherethe band’s
equipment resided. The place had a kitchen and a nicebackyard, all the amenities
musicians need to hang out and party aftergrueling practices.When keyboardist
A.J. Vincent first showed up to play with the band, heended up passed out on the
couch. That’s how drummer Joseph Mirasolerecognized him later… the guy who
passed out on the couch.Seeing the band, which also includes founder Jack
O’Brien on bass,perform at Grounds for Thought, it’s evident the spirit of those
timeslive on in Bright Light Social Hour’s shows.On July 16, Bright Light Social
Hour delivered a set of throbbing,shaggy-mane-shaking, instrument-flailing hard
rock that had the audienceon its feet demanding an encore.The band obliged with
a tune in waltz time, with shades of delicateballad, that the quartet
powerlifted to a full-throated roar.Bright Light Social Hour will be back in
town as the headliner for Friday’s show at the Black Swamp Arts Festival.The
band’s no stranger to these parts. It has also played a couple times at the
Village Idiot in Maumee.Four and a half years after those house sessions in
Austin, band is in aschizophrenic stage of its career, opening for Aerosmith in
Quebec Cityfor a crowd of 80,000 one night and then playing a club in
Louisville,Ky., for seven people… and getting food poisoning.

Jack O’Brien (bass) and A.J. Vincent (keyboard) of Bright Light Social Hour.

The band bought a brand new van in September, and has put more
than 50,000 miles on it. That’s their home.Those early house sessions inform the
band’s ethos. Sharing meals andhanging out fosters the collective creativity
that fuels Bright LightSocial Hour. The band’s roots go back a few years before
that to jamsthat O’Brien and Roush organized while student at
SouthwesternUniversity in Austin. “We played very experimental rock with a lot
ofscreaming,” O’Brien said.When O’Brien returned to town after spending a year
in Madrid, he and Roush decided to pull another band together.They posted an ad
on Craigslist. Mirasole, then a senior in high school,spotted it and was
intrigued. The ad listed a bunch of obscure bands hethought only he knew about.
He’d been involved in a band but it brokeup, he said, when two of the members
took jobs scooping ice cream at aMaggie Moo’s franchise.He practiced several
times with the band before getting the nod. At 23, he’s the youngest.Vincent was
invited to audition by his friend Alex O’Brien, the bassist’s brother and band
manager.Bright Light Social Hour’s recorded its initial offering, a
self-titledrecording in summer of 2010 and released it that fall both as a CD
andon vinyl. It took a few years, Roush said to work out tunes that all
fittogether and told a story. Now the band is working on a secondrecording.The
music is a joint effort. Everybody brings in bits and riffs, thatthe band works
into a musical whole. Lyrics are created the same way,with one band member
charged with taking his bandmates’ ideas andshaping them into a draft.

Joseph Mirasole of Bright Light Social on drums during a performance.

The
others then polish the draft, workshopstyle.The band’s camaraderie nurtured
through those hours in the Austin housemake such a work arrangement possible.
They have developed a knowledge,respect and trust of each other that allows them
to be open during thecreative process.The songs find the final form on stage,
with fans’ reaction and the flow of the live shows shaping the final product.The
wildness of those ur-sessions has been stylistically tamed. The bandformed
around a style that could incorporate the musicians far-flunginterests. They
share a love of many of the same bands, but each alsohas his own tastes.Mirasole
bring dance beats and techno to the mix,and takes in an appreciation for classic
rock, that he previouslythought of as “old man music.”The band maintains its
hyperkinetic approach to performing. Vincent isas likely to slash at his
keyboards using his whole arm as to finger ittraditionally.The musicians
underscore those frenetic jams with tight grooves. Nomatter how high and wild
the jams get, O’Brien’s melodic bass licks andMirasole’s driving beat keep them
grounded.Bright Light Social Hour delivers a rousing homemade sound that travels
well.http://www.thebrightlightsocialhour.com/music.html